Taxis, Trains, Toil, and Trouble
by xSnowWhiteQu33n
Summary: What will happen when Dumbledore sends Snape and Tonks to New York City to bring back a muggle college student who is in more danger than she ever could have realized? Rated T for possible cursing.
1. Chapter 1: The Mission

What will happen when Dumbledore sends Tonks and Snape to New York City to bring back a muggle college student who is in more danger than she ever could have realized? Maybe Snape/OC but probably not.

_A/N: This story is set Pre DH. I'm going to try to keep the characters as in character as possible, but this will not be strictly canon. I have my basic plot, but this story could really go in any direction. This chapter is sort of an experiment to see if I should write more or if people actually like it. This is more for my own entertainment, but if others like it that is always a plus. Feel free to give me any ideas. This is my first fanfic, so constructive criticism is welcome, but flames are not. Enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or ideas. However, the original characters and plot are mine._

**Chapter 1: The Mission**

"Absolutely not, Albus." Severus Snape sat up as straight as he could in one of the Headmaster's plush armchairs and crossed his long, slender arms over his chest, glaring.

"Now then, Severus," the headmaster said cheerfully. "I really don't see what big deal is. I daresay you've dealt with a lot worse before." Albus's eye twinkled merrily. Severus knew that when that eye started twinkling, there was there nothing he could do to change the Headmaster's mind. Still, it wouldn't hurt to make Albus aware of how utterly ridiculous the entire situation was.

"_Albus_," Severus stressed, "you want me to go to the States, to New York City no less, convince some American teenage muggle brat that she is in moral peril because the most powerful dark wizard of this age wants to use her for we-don't-even-know-what, and that she would be safer under the protection of wizards and witches that she did not previously know existed? And if, by some miracle, I convince her to come with me, I have to then house said brat in my dungeons? How did you expect me to react to this, Albus? Did you think that I would be jumping up and down like some hyperactive adolescent at a Weird Sisters concert?"

"Look Severus, I know this isn't going to be very pleasant for you. However, this girl may just be the key in understanding what we need to take Tom down in the final battle. If I were to trust anyone with a task as important as this, it would be you. And don't worry, you won't be going alone."

Severus rolled his eyes. "And who, pray tell, did you arrange as my travel partner? Potter? Miss Granger? Longbottom perhaps?"

"Miss Nymphadora Tonks."

"WHAT?!" Severus stood up to full length in disbelief. "Albus, have you failed to notice that the little twit cannot stand straight on her own two feet for more than five minutes? Or how everything in the surrounding area seems to break when she is present? Honestly Albus, I think we would be safer with Longbottom."

"Now Severus, Miss Tonks is a very capable Auror. She will be an asset to have. Plus, she has always wanted to visit New York. She should be here any --" Albus was cut off by the sound of coughing, accompanied by smoke surrounding his fireplace. A few seconds later, Nymphadora Tonks stumbled out of the fireplace, in a coughing fit. She sported long, wavy, sky-blue hair, a black t-shirt with a multi-colored skull and crossbones, a pair of camouflage jeans, and blue sneakers that matched her hair. She managed to bumble across the room, falling into the fiery orange stuffed armchair beside Severus, who looked at her with as much distaste and caution as if she were a Blast-Ended Skrewt. Albus clasped his hands together merrily as if she had entered as gracefully as a Phoenix.

"Miss Tonks! How wonderful that you managed to arrive on time! I trust that your trip went well?

"I –_cough_—it –_cough-_ …fine," Tonks struggled to breathe.

"Now then, dear, just rest for a minute. Have a lemon drop." Albus held out a colorful glass dish filled with hard, yellow sweets to her. She took one, but not before knocking over a bottle of ink and a quill. Tonks looked up apologetically at the Headmaster, and Severus covered his face with one of his hands. The Headmaster smiled and waved his hand dismissingly.

"No worries, dear. _Scourgify_." Albus pointed his wand at the spilt ink, which completely disappeared. He then got up, opened a manila folder, took out a couple of pieces of paper, and replaced the folder on top of a tall, black filing cabinet. He set the pieces of paper in front of Snape and Tonks.

"Now, this is a picture of the girl you're looking for. Her name is Amy Beckett. She's nineteen years old and very intelligent. She attends an esteemed muggle university. In fact, you could say that she sort of the intellectual equivalent of Miss Granger."

Tonks and Snape both sat straight up. "Wonderful," Snape said through clenched teeth. "Another know-it-all? This situation gets better and better, doesn't it?" He took the picture in his hand and studied it. The girl in the picture had long, dark brown hair, and serious eyes. _If I didn't know any better_, Severus thought, _I would think she was a member of the Black family_. He passed the picture to Tonks and watched as the Headmaster explained the other piece of paper on the desk.

"This is the address of her university. Tomorrow the university is going to host an open house for prospective students and their families. Severus, Miss Tonks, you will disguise yourselves as a muggle father and his daughter interested in the school. That way, you can get past the muggle security without running into any problems."

"Albus," Severus started painfully. "There are many other ways of getting past muggle security – disillusionment charms, invisibility potions…-"

"None of which you will be using in such a highly concentrated area of muggles. Magic is to be used ONLY in instances of emergency, is that understood?" Albus asked sharply. Tonks and Snape nodded silently, Snape's sour attitude evident as he once again folded his arms across his chest.

"Now, there is a flew network connecting my office with the basement of the Time Warner Building in New York. This building is across the street from the university. You will enter the building and tell the muggles at the entrance you are there for the tour. If you happen to see Miss Beckett during the tour, find an excuse to leave and go talk to her. If not, wait as long as you can and then go look for her. There will be many muggles on the tour with you, so you shall not be missed. It is imperative that you catch her before she leaves the building. Any questions?" The Headmaster looked up happily as if he had merely asked them to pick up a quill off the floor.

Severus looked up, an annoyed sneer on his face. "I have many questions, Headmaster. Why me? Why this girl? How can an American muggle be so important to-" the Headmaster held up his hand to stop him.

"Severus, I have already explained the importance of this mission. We don't know exactly what Tom wants with her, but we do know that it is extremely important that we need to get to her before he does. If there are no real questions—" Tonks suddenly spoke up.

"Professor Dumbledore, I have a question. How should we, er, dress?"

Albus chuckled. "It really doesn't matter, dear. New York is a very…diverse place. You could go as you are now without attracting very much attention." Tonks grinned at this while Snape glared at her.

"Well, if there are no further questions, I shall see both of you in my office at 9:00 A.M. sharp tomorrow. You are dismissed." Albus waved a joyous hand at them. Severus sprang from his seat and stalked down the stairs to exit. Tonks bade Albus an equally happy goodbye and bounced toward the fireplace. Albus watched the two leave in amusement.

"This is going to be the beginning of a very interesting week," Albus said thoughtfully, dropping a lemon drop into his mouth.


	2. Chapter 2: The Arrival

_A/N: All of the places in this story are real, as are many of the situations. Thank you so much to my first couple of reviewers, you got me really excited get another chapter out. I don't know if I'll be able to update this fast all the time, but right now I've become slightly obsessed with the story right now. I know the chapter is short, but I wanted to get it out. Enjoy!_

_I don't own Harry Potter characters or spells, blah blah blah. _

**Chapter 2: The Arrival  
**

Severus Snape stood facing the foreign fireplace with his arms open, waiting to receive the ungraceful Tonks when she predictably tumbled out. He was wearing black, muggle jeans, a black belt, a short-sleeved, black collared shirt, and a loosely fitting black trench coat. Merlin only knew why he was wearing the trench coat; it was about seventy degrees outside. He glanced down at his shoes, which were made of black leather. Within seconds, Nymphadora Tonks stumbled out of the fireplace with her arms open as if she were about to take flight. Snape caught her and held her only a moment while he steadied her. He then took her by the shoulders and spun her around, away from the fireplace. Today she wore a relatively plain pair of jeans with rips on the left thigh and right calf, a white t-shirt with the word '_anarchy_' written in red, and a matching pair of red converse sneakers. Her hair was long and lime-green in low pigtails. Her eyes were the same endless pools of darkness as Snape's, and her skin mirrored his ghostly pale complexion. She also had morphed her nose to be a little bigger and a little more crooked than it normally was. In almost any other place, these two would stick out like a sore thumb. However, this was New York.

"Can't ever quite get that landing, can I?" Tonks grinned up at him gratefully.

"That, or any other one," Snape said condescendingly. "Let's get out of here before you take down the entire building."

The room that they were in was entirely bare except for the fireplace, which was attached to one of the four walls. Each wall was made up of dark blue bricks, which had begun to erode and collect dust. The floor was hard, un-even and gray. The ceiling, which was exceptionally high, was the same faded blue as the walls. It would appear to the ordinary muggle that there was no way in or out of the room, save the fireplace. Snape walked up to one of the walls, took out his wand, and tapped out a pattern into five of the bricks. The bricks then parted and made enough room for a Snape-sized person to get through. Snape hid his wand inside one of the pockets of his trench coat and walked through the opening, followed by Tonks.

They both froze as they looked out onto Columbus Avenue. Hundreds of people were briskly moving in different directions. Snape jumped slightly at the sound of two taxis beeping as they almost collided into one another. He then glared in vain at numerous pedestrians as they hurriedly bumped into him without apology. Snape wordlessly grabbed Tonks, who had been looking upward in awe at the various tall buildings, by the shoulder and walked with her to the corner of the street.

"Bloody hell," Snape breathed as soon as they stopped walking. "This has got to be one of the most terrifying things I have ever experienced, and I have been in the presence of the Dark Lord himself." He leaned against one of the buildings to avoid being trampled.

"Are you kidding? This is amazing! Look at all the buildings! And the people! And the…fast yellow things! I hear music coming from over there, Severus, let's go see-…" Tonks started as she pointed with one hand and tried to drag Severus in the opposite direction with the other.

"Nymphadora Tonks, if you so much as _think_ about moving within six inches of me I will hex you into the next century and _obliviate_ every single muggle here if I have to. Not that I would mind if you got hopelessly lost, but the Headmaster specifically forbade me from allowing that to happen. Now shut up and for Merlin's sake _stay near me_." Snape pointed his finger in her face as if he were scolding a first year student. Tonks glared right back at him and haughtily put her hands on her hips.

"Severus Snape, I am a grown witch and I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I am no longer one of your students. You are about as intimidating to me as an old shoe. And if you _ever_ call me Nymphadora again, I will charm away all of your clothes and leave you in the middle of the street in your little spider and bat-covered knickers."

"How…how dare you…I don't wear…enough of this!" Severus sputtered, trying to regain his composure. "Incase you've forgotten, we're here for a reason. I'd like to execute this as quickly as possible." He pulled out the piece of paper that Albus had given him with the address of the university. Also on the paper were hastily drawn arrows, indicating that the university was down the street and to the right of their current location. "According to this, all we need to do is walk down this street. The university should be directly ahead of us. Shall we?" Severus tried to say calmly.

"After you, _dad_" Tonks said mockingly. They didn't even get halfway down the block when an enthusiastic young man with a blonde mini-mohawk, a light pink t-shirt and a rainbow colored wristband holding a clipboard blocked their path.

"Excuse me sir, do you have a minute for gay rights?" he asked Snape with a lisp. However, Snape gave him a look that could melt iron, and the young man didn't wait for an answer. He walked away quickly, muttering "thanks, have a nice day," and confronted a tall woman in a green hat.

They took a couple more steps when a man in a bright blue suit handed Tonks a card with small black print. "Do you like to laugh?" the man asked her. Delighted, Tonks replied, "Why of cour-…" Snape cut her off, looked at the man squarely in the eyes, and said, "Do you like to have your flesh removed with a sharp object, poked around in a fireplace, and sewed back on with a piece of cutlery?" The man walked away quickly, turned back around to look at Snape, and broke out into a run.

"Severus!" Tonks half laughed, half scolded. "Was that really necessary?"

"I swear, if one more muggle imbecile questions me or tries to offer me something I will turn him into a cockroach and step on him!" Severus angrily stalked down the rest of the block and Tonks had to run to catch up with him. He stopped suddenly when the words Fordham University came into clear view. Tonks ran into him and they both plummeted to the ground.

"Get off me, you bloody menace," Snape growled as quickly rose to his feet.

"Are we here? We're here! How exciting!" Tonks sprang up off the ground. "Well it's rather small, isn't it?" She pointed to a decent-sized blue and grey building with a small number of young people standing outside talking, laughing, and reading. In front there were wooden benches surrounded by patches of grass, decorated with red and yellow tulips.

"And you were you expecting a castle?" Severus asked while glaring at the teenagers who appeared to be enjoying themselves. When he realized that none of them were the one he was looking for, he pulled Tonks toward the entrance with him and said, "Now let's get inside before I curse someone."


	3. Chapter 3: The Search

_A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! I wanted to make sure what I was writing didn't suck. Thanks again to RadicalReason, FluffleWriter, and Nicole for the reviews. Love to all, and enjoy the next chapter. _

**Chapter 3: The Search**

Severus Snape and Nymphadora Tonks walked through the doors of Fordham University, not quite knowing what to expect. Inside they saw a circular security desk containing a tall, uniformed man who looked like he would rather be anywhere else. He barely acknowledged the people walking by him, holding up cards with their faces on them as they passed. To the left of the desk was a small café stand called '_Jazzman's,_" located behind groups of two or three white chairs containing students and faculty members. Snape and Tonks stood still and looked around to get a better idea of their surroundings. They started to make their way over to the security desk when two students, a male and a female, with identical maroon Fordham t-shirts jumped in front of them. Snape instinctively reached for his wand, but Tonks elbowed him in the ribs. He instead settled his hands in his pockets so as not to accidentally injure somebody.

"Hi! Welcome to Fordham! Are you here for the tour?" asked the taller of the pair. She had blonde hair pulled back in a messy bun and a never-ending smile that looked like it was aided by botox.

"Yes," Tonks replied, trying to match her friendliness and level of enthusiasm.

"Great, come with us! What is your name?" the shorter one asked, frantically urging Tonks and Snape toward a group of excited looking teenagers and their parents. He had short, messy light brown hair, out of which a pair of large, pointy ears poked. Severus mused that he could be Flitwick's long lost cousin.

"Um…" Tonks struggled to remember the name that Dumbledore had used to arrange the tour. "Hannah!"

Severus raised an eyebrow at her and addressed the student. "You'll have to excuse my daughter, she can be a little _slow_ sometimes." At the word slow he looked her right in the eye, and she gave him a slight shrug.

"That's perfectly alright!" laughed the tall, blonde student. "It happens!" She took out a piece of paper from her pocket and examined it. Then she looked up at Snape and Tonks. "Hannah Smith and her father, Mr. Smith?"

"That is correct," Snape replied.

"Excellent! You were the last two on the list. I'm just going to hand this to the security guard and we'll be off! Can I take your jacket, sir?" She pointed to Snape's unseasonably warm choice of outerwear. Before he could respond, Tonks chimed in.

"That's ok, my father gets cold very easily. It's because he's so_ old_." She shot him a look of haughtiness and continued walking until they reached the group. There were about nine other pairs besides them. Although Snape and Tonks were possibly the most distinctive pair, it was definitely a diverse crowd. Snape bent his head down to Tonks's ear, and whispered, "I would _really _appreciate it if you could just try a little harder not to completely screw everything up." Tonks took a step away from him and said, probably a little too loud, "Don't worry, _dad_, I won't disappoint you." Although there was no venom in her voice, it was all in her eyes. A couple of members of the group turned to them, notably a portly, middle-aged man with the only remaining white hair on his head involved in a dreadful comb-over. The man turned to Snape and Tonks.

"Well that's quite an accent you've got there! Where are you from?" the jolly man asked. Snape raised an eyebrow at him but answered civilly, "London."

"London, how exciting! Never been there myself. Do you get a lot of rain?"

"Yes, lots." Snape said absently. He thought that his short answers and obvious disinterest in the conversation would steer the idiot away from him. However, Snape's new best friend did not know how to take a hint and continued to chat it up with him as if they had been friends for years.

"This is a wonderful school. You must be very proud of your daughter for setting her sights so high. I know I couldn't be more proud of my little muffin." At this he pinched his daughters cheek, which made both her and Snape very uncomfortable. She walked away, pretending to be interested in some of the contemporary artwork hanging from the wall. Snape mentally cursed the girl for leaving him alone with her way too talkative, socially ignorant father.

"It's not easy getting into schools like this, is it?" The man directed this question at Tonks.

Tonks looked confused and replied, "it wasn't that hard, we only went through that door over there." She innocently and obliviously pointed to the same door they had come in." The man put his hand on his big stomach and chuckled. Snape sent her a murderous look.

"How funny she is! Isn't she funny?" he asked Snape, who obviously found no humor in the situation.

"Indeed. Almost…_unbearably_ funny." Snape dug his hand into Tonks' shoulder. She discreetly stomped on his foot and took a few steps away. The man was completely unaware of the exchange and kept talking.

"Of course, this isn't my dumpling's first choice. More of a fallback incase one of the Ivy Leagues doesn't accept her, although I can't imagine why they wouldn't. What school wouldn't accept my gracious little angel? Why, they'd have to be mad!" At this he chuckled and put a big, meaty arm on Snape's shoulder. Snape looked desperately at Tonks to catch her eye, but she was conveniently looking in the opposite direction. He silently wondered where the hell those blasted students with the piece of paper and matching shirts were.

"Yep, yep, only the best for my daughter. Only the best. Say, where is my little ray of sunshine anyway?" Snape took the opportunity when the man turned around to make a lunge for Tonks. He grabbed her by the arm and said, "Now don't wonder too far, _pumpkin_." She jumped slightly at his touch but was amused by his desperation. "But I thought you were getting along so well with your new friend," she said, trying not to laugh. As if on cue, the obnoxious man and his daughter returned to Snape's side. Snape mentally slapped himself in the head.

"Say, since you live so far from here, your daughter would be living in the dormitories, right?" The man was relentless.

"Erm, yes, of course," Snape said as he and Tonks exchanged glances. The man smiled and shook his head.

"Oh, I couldn't even begin to imagine how horrible that would be for you. I would just _die_ if my little chicken pot-pie moved so far away!"

"That can be arranged," Snape said under his breath, so that only he and Tonks heard. Tonks snickered behind her hand and feigned a cough. Finally the two students with the matching shirts returned to the group.

"Sorry about that!" apologized the taller one. "Had to wait until the security guards changed shifts. Now, is everyone ready?" Snape took this opportunity to move him and Tonks as far away from his new friend as possible.

"Ok everyone, stay together. First, we want to welcome you to Fordham. My name is Meagan, and this is Matt. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us. The university was first established in 1841 when the…" Severus stopped listening and turned to Tonks.

"Be sure to keep a lookout for the girl. I don't want to put up with this ridiculousness any more than absolutely necessary."

Tonks giggled at his pained expression. "But you look like you're having such a good time!" He glared at her and continued walking.

"Ok everyone, we're gonna go straight up the escalator and take the elevators to the second floor lounge. It's a good place for the students to relax and unwind!" said the shorter student. Tonks and Snape exchanged worried glances. They moved closer to one another and whispered to each other.

"What's an escalator?" Tonks asked Snape worriedly.

"I'm not sure. I would assume it was a small elevator. It's taking us to the elevator so that's the only thing it could possibly be." His words were more confident than his voice was. After a couple more steps, the group stopped in front of an ascending steal staircase. Tonks and Snape looked at each other in a panic. They waited until everyone else in the group had gone up and watched as they took a step and floated upward. This did not go unnoticed.

"Hey guys, don't fall behind! Wouldn't want anyone getting lost!" the short, male student called down to them.

"After you, _darling_." Snape stepped behind Tonks, a small smile almost forming on his face when she looked at him in terror.

"Are you mad? I'm not going first! You go first!"

"Ah, I had forgotten. Hufflepuffs aren't exactly known for their bravery. We'll go together. On three. One, two, three!"

Snape and Tonks stepped up onto the escalator with everybody in the group staring at them. They remained absolutely motionless until they reached the top. Snape only waited a second and then stepped onto the motionless floor. Tonks, however, stayed on the escalator, backing up so that she didn't reach the teeth of it. After a few seconds, she jumped over the teeth and fell into Snape's awaiting arms.

"I did it!" she shouted triumphantly. Then she smiled sheepishly as she realized all eyes in the group were on her.

"I um…had a traumatic experience as a child." She ducked behind Snape for cover. Luckily, this display did not stop the tour, and everyone started heading toward the elevator bank. There were about six or seven red elevators, with buttons that indicated either up or down. Across from the elevators were doors leading to an area outside that was mostly covered in grass and contained blue benches. One of the green arrows pointing up lit up, and everybody got into the elevator.

Tonks whispered to Snape, "They're a lot faster and more interesting at the Ministry." One of the students pressed the "2" button, and it wasn't long before they had reached their destination. The doors opened up to reveal a relatively large room covered in a maroon carpet with matching maroon chairs. The chairs were set up against the long windows and around circular tables. There were four sofas, each facing each other and not looking very comfortable. Some of the chairs and tables contained students who were either reading, speaking excitedly to each other, or sleeping. The shorter group leader spoke up.

"This is our student lounge. It's a really great place to hang out between classes to study, meet up with friends, or just take a nap."

"Well I hope they don't nap too much, with the amount of tuition I'll be paying!" laughed a tall, skinny father with a dust-colored mustache so thick it made him look slightly like a walrus.

"Oh, don't worry about that. We students work very hard; we spend more time working than we do resting," said the taller student, giving a nervous giggle. Some of the prospective students paled at this.

The shorter student pointed across the room to a couple of doors. "Through the door on the right is Enrollment Services, and the door to the left leads to the Office for Students With Disabilities. The people who work in those offices are very friendly and would be glad to help you if you have any questions for them."

Severus looked around the room, glaring at the sleeping students, keeping his eye on one that was sprawled out on one of the sofas, snoring particularly loudly. One quick sweep told him that he girl he and Tonks were looking for was not in the room. He whispered to Tonks.

"Bloody slackers. If I found students at Hogwarts carelessly dosing off in public areas in the castle I would take away at least fifty house points for pure laziness after I frightened them out of their teenaged, sex-filled dreams."

"Oh, really Severus, what's the big deal? Dumbledore told us that half of the students don't even live here, including the one we're looking for. Where else would they go to re…" Tonks stopped and stared directly ahead of her. Severus turned his head to where she was looking. She was staring in amazement at a computer with the university logo on it.

"What does that thing do?" She pointed to it and looked to the smaller student for the answer.

"Oh, that's just an Internet kiosk. It allows students who don't have computers or who need to check something quickly to access the Internet. You have used the Internet before, haven't you?" the shorter student joked. Tonks, having absolutely no clue what the Internet or a computer was, frantically nodded and laughed awkwardly.

"Of course I have. I love the Internet. I use it every day!"

"Most of us do," the taller student said cheerfully. "Now, since it's such a nice day out, we'd love to show you our outdoor plaza. There will be a lot more students out there than in here. It's really a beautiful sight!" With that, she led them back into the elevators and pressed the down button. One elevator opened up right away, and everybody piled in.

"Did you ever try jumping while the elevator goes down? It's so much fun! Watch!" Tonks bent her knee together and prepared for liftoff. Snape grabbed one of her shoulders.

"Don'_.think_.about it," Snape whispered harshly.

"Do you naturally suck the fun out of everything, or do you work extra hard at it I when I'm around?" Tonks pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. The elevator stopped and everybody got out. Tonks felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. It was the girl whose father had been talking to Snape.

"I absolutely _love_ your hair! My dad would flip if I dyed my hair." She whispered, looking to make sure her dad wasn't listening.

"Died it? Well I don't blame him. That sounds awful!" The girl raised her eyebrow at Tonks.

"So it's a wig then?"

"I…yes. Yes it is. My real hair got…burned. In…a fire! Yes. That's exactly what happened." Tonks giggled nervously while Snape discreetly rolled his eyes.

"Oh, how awful!" The girl put her hand to her mouth.

"Yes…well…it's quite alright," Tonks said uneasily. Luckily, the girl's obnoxious dad came to Tonks' rescue.

"How wonderful! My little cream puff is making friends already!" He put his arm around his daughter, who sighed. Snape pulled Tonks toward to doors outside as he realized half the group was already out there. The pair stopped and stared at their surroundings. Immediately in front of them were blue benches in which some older and younger people were smoking. To the right was a bunch of statues and stones set up where people were either smoking or having conversations. To the left was a grassy area in which students were lying down on towels and having lunch. There was even a game of frizzbee going on in the middle circle of the field. Tonks was thrilled and avidly watching. Snape looked around and sneered, as usual. He turned to listen for second to the students in charge to see if they were saying anything important.

"…sunshine, sports, relief from the stress of classes…" he decided quickly that it was not. He turned to Tonks, who was about to speak.

"Severus…I've just thought of something. What if the girl we're looking for is in class?"

"Well I'm sure she can't…I mean Albus wouldn't…I'll kill him." Severus crossed his arms.

"I mean, if she's not in class, then why would she still be in the building? I know I'd want to go home or do something fun if I didn't live at school."

"Well, isn't she involved in activities? Albus said she's an excellent student, after all. Maybe she's waiting around for a meeting to start?" Severus put his hand on the back of his head, feeling around for an answer.

"I suppose. Oh cool! There's one of those Internet thingies over there!" Tonks pointed to a girl with white headphones holding a black laptop with a glowing white apple on the back.

"I don't care about some stupid muggle contraption that…" Snape stopped mid-sentence as he examined the girl's face while pulling out the photograph that Albus had given him. It was a muggle photograph, of course, and did not move. The girl had the same dark hair and serious eyes as in the photograph. Even though she wore her hair up today and it was down in the photograph, he was almost positive that it had to be her.

"See, I told you they were interesting!" Tonks exclaimed.

"You idiot, that's her!" Severus nodded his head in her direction.

Tonks leaned toward Snape and looked closer. "Its wh—oh! Her! What are we going to do? Is it really her? Are you sure? Maybe it's not…"

"Shut up and let me think for a minute!" Snape scolded, clearly distressed. He noticed that the group was at least five feet behind them and was moving back inside. He was considering hiding until they had had gone inside when the taller student had noticed him. He mentally cursed her.

"Hey guys! Don't fall behind! We're going to see the computer labs next!" she called out.

Tonks' eyes glimmered with excitement. "Hey Sev, do you think that maybe we could…" she started, whispering.

"Don't even think about it." Snape drawled out. The taller student was walking closer to them. Snape thought quickly.

"I'm sorry, but my daughter doesn't seem to feel very good. Does she?" He dug his fingers into Tonks' shoulder.

"Oww! Yes, my … stomach is killing me! We have to go, but we really had a wonderful time. Thanks so much!" She winced and tried to free herself from Snape's death grip.

"Oh, well feel better! If you want, there's a faster way to get out of here. Instead of going back inside, go down those stairs over there. They lead right outside the front door and are closer to the bathrooms than they way we came out, if you need them."

_Perfect_ Severus thought. "Indeed. Thank you. We shall be going now." He gave the girl a nod, and led Tonks by the arm toward the stairs. Then, he turned back and made sure everyone else in the group had gone inside. Then he turned back to where the girl had been sitting. Panic struck him as he realized she was no longer there.

"Damn it! Where the hell did she go? She was sitting right there!" Snape started pacing back and forth.

"Actually, Severus dear, she was, and still is, sitting over _there_." She pointed about ten feet to the right of where Severus had originally been looking.

"Of course she is. I knew that. Alright, let's go get this over with." Severus looked relieved and started walking toward her. Tonks hesitantly grabbed his arm.

"Hold on. Don't you think I should do the talking? I mean, you don't want to scare the poor girl with your…intimidating tendencies."

Snape stopped walking and glared at her. "Well, we also wouldn't want to freak her out with that obnoxious green hair of yours."

"_Well_, it's a lot better looking than that greasy black hair of _yours_!"

Snape looked furious. "Silence! Incase you have forgotten, the Headmaster sent us out on a very important mission and we need to do it as fast as possible. Let's _go_."

They continued walking in silence and stopped right in front of the girl. Snape and Tonks looked at each other, and Snape spoke up after a few seconds.

"Excuse me, Miss Beckett? There are some things we wish to discuss with you.


	4. Chapter 4: The Confrontation

_A/N: Quick update. The chapter is a little short because I needed to break it here. The next chapter will be longer and will take longer to write. Thanks to my reviewers. Enjoy. _

**Chapter 4: The Confrontation**

Amy Beckett was sitting on one of the bright blue benches outside on the plaza. She had gotten out of class early and had been waiting for a Psychology Association meeting to start. She had decided to pass the time listening to music and browsing the Internet, with her black laptop in front of her and her white headphones covering her ears. This is why she did not hear Severus Snape when he said, "Excuse me, Miss Beckett? There are some things we wish to discuss with you."

Snape and Tonks exchanged glances and looked back at Amy.

"I don't think she care hear you, Severus. It must have something to do with those thingies by her ears." Tonks gave a slight nod toward the headphones.

"Well I can't very well go and take them off her, can I?" Snape retorted, annoyed.

"If it were a Hogwarts student you wouldn't hesitate for a second. I'll get her attention." She bent down and put her hand on Amy's shoulder.

"Amy?" she asked, tentatively.

Amy looked up and jumped slightly at the close proximity of the two odd-looking strangers in front of her. She took of her headphones and gave them a small, apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that! I can hardly hear anything with these things on. Do you need help with something?" She moved her laptop off of her and put it on the seat next to her.

Tonks and Snape looked at each other again and then back at her. Tonks sat next to her on the opposite side that her computer was on while Snape put his hand on the back of his head.

"We…erm…well…there's no easy way to say this…umm," Tonks started uncertainly. Snape rolled his eyes at her.

"My name is Severus Snape. I am a teacher at a school oversees. This is Nymph…" Tonks stomped on his foot.

"…this is Miss Tonks. She is a sort of…law enforcer. What we've come to tell you will be, I'm sure, very hard to believe. However, I request that you hear us out." Snape then looked around, and cast a silent _muffliato_. Amy looked back and forth between them and raised an eyebrow. She wondered what sort of law enforcer could possibly be a few years younger than her and get away with bright green hair.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, not knowing what to expect.

"No. Well, sort of. It's a bit complicated, actually," Tonks tried to answer.

"There is no easy way to say this, so I am just going to come right out and say it. You, Miss Beckett, are in grave danger. I teach potions at a school for witches and wizards. The Headmaster of that school, Albus Dumbledore, sent us here to collect you and bring you there. We have recently received information that the most powerful dark wizard of our time is after you. Miss Tonks and I are part of an organization to fight this wizard. The Headmaster thinks that it would be a good idea if you came to live in our school for a while. You can come home sometimes of course, but you will need to have someone with you. Unfortunately, we do not know exactly what he wants you for, but we hope to figure that out in good time. Any questions?" He crossed his arms and waited for an answer. Amy stared at him in disbelief and started laughing.

"Actually, I have a few questions. What the hell are you on? Who put you up to this? Am I on camera? How did you get past security?" She looked at Tonks, then at Snape, then back at Tonks.

Snape spoke up again. "I know that what we told you may seem difficult to believe. However…" He didn't get to finish, because Amy stood straight up, enraged, and started shouting at him.

"May seem difficult to believe!? Are you _kidding_ me? A tall, Dracula look-alike and a girl with green hair who looks like she could be his daughter come up to me and tell me that I'm in danger because some dark wizard from a magical land wants to use me for his diabolical plan, and that I should come with you people so that you can protect me? I think I can do a pretty good job of warding off the imaginary by myself, thank you." She said the last sentence more quietly and looked around worriedly. However, she was amazed to see that no one had heard her. As if to read her thoughts, Severus said, "you don't have to worry, they can't hear you. They're bewitched."

Amy looked even angrier. "Oh, right. I'm sure they are." Then she spoke at the top of her voice.

"THESE TWO CRAZY PEOPLE WANT TO TAKE ME TO THEIR MAGICAL LAND, WITH WIZARDS AND FAIRIES AND GREMLINS!" No one even turned a head toward her. She then stood up on the bench.

"I HAVE A WEAPON AND I'M GOING TO BLOW UP THE ENTIRE SCHOOL UNLESS YOU PEOPLE LISTEN TO ME!" Still, nothing. She sat back down in frustration.

"Still don't believe me? Or would you like to continue this display of foolish shouting?" He glared down at her, clearly annoyed by her behavior.

"I'm sorry, I thought wizards had magic wands. I don't think I saw you use one." She crossed her arms smugly.

"Well, it looks like the muggle fairy tales aren't that far off. And some wizards are so gifted that they can perform wandless magic." He then opened the coat pocket that held his wand so she could peer into it quickly. "And I've been given orders not to use magic here. However, if you give me a reason to, I will not hesitate."

Tonks stepped in before things could heat up even more.

"Severus, be nice. I'm sure this isn't easy for her. And believe me, love, he's definitely not my father. I'll prove it to you." Tonks stood up and turned around so that only Snape and Amy could see her. Then she scrunched her nose in concentration and morphed her face back into its natural state. Her nose shrank and straightened, while her eyes because lighter and her complexion became slightly darker. Amy backed up against the back of the bench in shock. She then stood up again and started walking away briskly, saying behind her, "I don't know who the hell you people are or what kind of tricks you're trying to play on me but I don't want any part of it!" Tonks looked at Snape in a panic, but Snape had his eyes on Amy. _Stupefy_, he thought. Since the spell would have been stronger had he used his wand, Amy wasn't completely knocked out, but fell forward. Severus ran to catch her and dragged her back to the bench. It took Tonks a few minutes to realize what had happened.

"Severus! You just said it your self, we're not supposed to use magic! And I don't think Dumbledore would approve of using it against her. You're not doing a very good job of convincing her to come with us!" she hissed at him.

"If Dumbledore does find out, she's not the only annoying, disrespectful female I'll be using wandless magic on. And you can't prove a thing. For all we know, she could be as graceful as, well, you. And if you think I'm doing such a bad job, why don't you try to do better?" Snape spat the words at her.

Tonks turned to a very scared and still Amy.

"Listen, love. We're not trying to hurt you. Not all wizards are bat-like, slimy gits. You'll really like it at Hogwarts. You're actually pretty lucky if you think about it, muggles don't usually ever see it."

"Muggles?" Amy looked confused.

"Non-magical people. Like you," Tonks clarified.

"And can all of you….change your appearance? Like you did?" She looked up at Tonks interestedly.

Tonks laughed. "No, I'm afraid my kind is a bit rare. I'm a metamorphagus. That basically means that I can change my appearance at will. My hair, my eyes, my entire face, my body, all of it. It comes in handy sometimes, and makes for a good prank."

Amy's eyes went wide with intrigue. "How do you become one of those?" Tonks sighed.

"You have to be born one, I'm afraid. That seems to disappoint most people."

Amy exhaled heavily and grabbed her hair with one of her hands.

"It's really hard to believe all of this. I mean, part of me thinks that I've completely lost my mind. But another part of me can't dispute what I've seen. I've always knew something better had to exist, something more magical and amazing than this boring, every day life. I'd love to leave and go with you. But…what about my dad? And my studies? I can't very well leave in the middle of the semester, and if you think it was difficult convincing me to believe you, you'll have a hell of a time trying to convince my dad."

Tonks put her hand on Amy's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, the Headmaster has taken care of all that. Your dad will receive a letter that you have won a scholarship for an honors program abroad and that you must leave immediately. As for the school, the Headmaster has been keeping in contact with one of the members of the faculty, who is a squib." At Amy's confused look, Tonks explained.

"A squib is someone with magical parents but who is not magical themselves. They have magic in their blood but, for one reason or another, it does not manifest. Anyway, the faculty member is Dean Graham. We will be keeping in contact with her, and she will be giving us information about your classes so that you can still do your work and get your credits. You can do your work at Hogwarts, the school that you'll be staying at."

Amy's eyes went wide again. "Dean Graham? I always thought she was a witch, but not the magical kind. She's always glaring at the students."

Tonks laughed and pointedly looked at Snape. "Hmm, reminds me of someone I know. And what do you expect? If I had magical parents and I wasn't magical, I'd be pissed."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. So how will we be…" Amy was interrupted by a snowy, white owl, who swooped toward them and dropped a letter onto Snape's head. He glared at the owl before letting the letter drop into his hands. The owl flew away as quickly as it had come.

"Was that…an owl? With…a letter?" Amy was completely bewildered.

"Indeed," Snape replied as he examined it. "It's from the Headmaster," he announced as he saw the Hogwarts seal. He carefully opened it.

_Dear Severus and Miss Tonks,_

_I trust that things are going smoothly with Miss Beckett. I'm going to ask you two to accompany her to her home using muggle transportation. That way she can collect her things, and you can get to know her better. Also, you'll get a lovely view of New York City. _

_At exactly 5:00 p.m., this letter will turn into a portkey and bring you all back to my office. That way we can explain to Miss Beckett all of the matters concerning her and arrange her living quarters before the feast. You should have plenty of time. Enjoy your stay in New York!_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Snape sneered at the letter, and then at Tonks when she grabbed it out of his hands. She held it out so that Amy could read it too. Tonks smiled, completely delighted.

"How wonderful! We get to see what it's like to be a muggle in New York!"

Snape failed to share this excitement. "And exactly what modes of transportation do you take to get your house?"

Amy looked up at him. "Well, we have to walk to the train station, which is down the block. Then we have to take the train to the ferry terminal. After that, we take the bus, which stops across the street from my house. The entire trip usually takes slightly less than two hours."

"Ferry, like a boat? We're going to take a boat?" Tonks asked gleefully.

Snape put his hand up to his forehead. "Wonderful. Bloody brilliant. Why do you put yourself through that every day, twice?"

"Well, if I could fly to school than I would, but sadly I can't." Amy answered smartly. Tonks giggled at this and Snape glared at her.

"You're just lucky you're not one of my students. You'd be in detention every day and would lose more points than Neville Longbottom. Perhaps we should get going, it's almost 2:30 now. We don't want the portkey going off before we're ready. And Miss Tonks, if you don't mind, I'd like to keep it with me. It would be best not to lose that, don't you think?"

Tonks rolled her eyes and threw it at him. He caught it and glared at her. Then his expression changed into one of concern. He turned back to Amy.

"Just how will the other members of your household react when you show up with a couple of strangers and disappear a few minutes later?"

Amy laughed. "We don't have to worry about that. My dad is at work, and my brother is either at his girlfriend's house or playing his guitar so loud that he won't even hear us come in."

"Well, that's a relief. Do you have any more business to attend to here?"

Amy looked up, as if the answer was in the sky. "I don't think so. I was going to go to a meeting, but the group is extremely disorganized and they'll probably wind up canceling anyway. We can leave now."

"Good. Lead the way."

Tonks and Snape followed Amy down the stairs, to the exit that the tall, blonde student had pointed out beforehand. Snape whispered a quick _Finite Incantatem_, and the three were on their next adventure: public, muggle transportation in New York.


	5. Chapter 5: The Journey Part I

**Chapter 5: The Journey Part I**

Severus Snape, Nymphadora Tonks, and Amy Beckett were walking down Columbus Avenue. Amy and Tonks walked ahead of Snape, who glared at everything that crossed his path. Luckily, the train station that was their destination was down the street, just across from the building that Snape and Tonks had flewed into. Snape came up behind Amy with an annoyed look on his face.

"How the bloody hell do you deal with all of those obnoxious imbeciles who come up to you when all you're trying to do is walk down the street? I honestly almost hexed someone on the way here." He shuddered at the memory and Amy laughed.

"Yeah, that happens a lot. I usually just walk quickly and ignore them. Sometimes I don't even notice them. You get used to it after a while."

"Well, I think it's exciting," Tonks said, clasping her hands together. "I'd love to live here!" Amy laughed again.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. It's exciting for a little while, but then it just gets exhausting."

"Is that why you live so far away that we have to take a boat?" Tonks asked.

"Well, I've lived there my whole life. It's pretty boring where I live, actually. I wanted the excitement of being in the city without the exhaustion and stress of actually living in it."

She was about to continue when she noticed that Snape had suddenly stopped walking. He was staring across the street at a homeless man who was arguing with himself. He was sitting down inside of a bus stop with filthy, raggedy blankets wrapped around himself. Snape turned to Amy for an explanation.

"Miss Beckett, _why_ is that man talking to himself and lying in his own filth?"

"Well, umm...he's homeless. It's not rare to see homeless people in the city sleeping in public areas. It's pretty sad, especially since the government doesn't seem to care enough about it. I would assume that the wizarding government is more organized?"

"Well...not as of late." Snape then turned to Tonks and nodded toward the homeless man. "Reminds me a bit of Lockheart."

Tonks laughed and put her arm around Snape.

"Severus, if I didn't know any better I'd think that you were enjoying yourself!" Snape turned to glare at her.

"And if you _did_ know better, you'd remove your arm from my neck before I remove it from your body." Tonks smirked but removed her arm. Amy looked confused but didn't say anything as she led Snape and Tonks down a flight of stairs. She stopped in front of a row of turnstiles and looked back at Snape and Tonks worriedly.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that you two don't have metro cards." Snape and Tonks exchanged glances and looked back at Amy, who went into her pocket and pulled out a small, yellow card with a black stripe on the bottom. From the looks on their faces, Amy could tell that they had never seen a metro card in their lives.

"You can't really get on the train without one. That's okay though, we can get some from the machine." She pointed directly behind Snape to a big, multicolored machine with a touch screen. "You do have money though, right?"

Tonks' face twisted in panic, but Snape calmly pulled a small, golden sack out of the right inside pocket of his trench coat and handed it to Amy. "Take as much as you need." At Tonks' confused look, he added, "surely you didn't think that one of the greatest wizards in history would send us to muggle New York City without proper currency?"

"Well why didn't you tell me before?" Tonks whined, almost looking hurt.

"And have you pester me to buy everything we came across? I thought I'd spare myself the aggravation." Snape smirked as Tonks huffed in indignation. Meanwhile, Amy had opened the sack and had begun to examine its contents. She raised her eyebrows and quickly returned a few hundred-dollar bills. She then took four singles, replaced the rest of the money, closed the sack and handed it back to Snape. Finally she turned back to the machine.

"Two single-ride metro cards should be good since we don't need to pay for the ferry and you'll only need a transfer for the bus," Amy said more to herself as she began to press the screen and put the money in. She handed Snape the first card that came out and Tonks the second. They both examined their cards with interest. Amy then turned toward the turnstiles.

"Alright. You just swipe the card like this, and when the green light flashes, you walk right through, like this." Amy demonstrated and waited for them on the other side of the turnstile. Snape swiped his card and then frowned as a red light flashed and a harsh beep sounded. He turned the card over and was successful the second time. Tonks, however, was not so lucky. She tried at least five times, and people behind her who were trying to get on the train were shooting dirty looks at her.

"It doesn't seem to like me," Tonks said after her sixth failed attempt.

"Maybe I should do it," Amy said, and leaned over from her side to swipe Tonks' card. She finally came through to the other side. Amy led them about ten feet further into to dark train station and stopped.

"So what do we do now?" Tonks asked Amy.

"Well…now we wait until the train comes. Do witches and wizards not take trains?"

"Well we do, they're just more…magical and…well, we don't have to go underground and wait for them."

Amy was about to ask more about magical trains when a very non-magical train with a big red number one on the front of it came screeching to a halt in front of them. The doors opened and the trio stepped inside. Amy led them to an area where there were three free seats. Amy and Tonks sat, but Snape refused.

"I think you'd better sit down, or at least hold on to something," Amy said to Snape.

"Miss Beckett, I am perfectly capable of balancing on my own two-"

Snape was cut off as the train suddenly jolted to life and he lost balance. Tonks grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the seat next to her.

"Now you know how I feel!" Tonks said to Snape, who glared at her. Amy decided it would be a good idea to change the subject.

"So, what do you guys do again?" She pointed to Snape. "You said you were a professor, right?"

"Indeed. I am Severus Snape, Potions Master and Head of the House of Slytherin." Amy raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Don't worry, the Headmaster will explain everything to you. And perhaps even more."

"So what should I call you? Should I call you Professor? I already call all my professors that, so it wouldn't be weird."

"Well, technically I'm not your professor. I will not be teaching you, and you are a couple of years older than the oldest students there. You may call me Severus."

Tonks decided to join in the conversation. "I usually call him Sev for short. He seems to like it." She giggled as Snape glared at her for the second time in the last two minutes.

"Well why don't you tell her what _your_ name is, Nymphadora?"

Tonks went to jab Snape in the side, but he saw it coming and caught her arm. He let go after a few seconds when he was sure she wasn't going to try anything stupid.

"My name is Tonks. No one calls me by my first name. I hate it, and if they do call me by it, something _unfortunate_ usually happens to them." At the word _unfortunate_ she gave Severus a hard look, but continued. "I am an Auror at the Ministry of Magic, which is our government. I've been compared to a muggle police officer before. I am trained to fight and catch dark wizards or anyone involved in dark magic, like the wizard who's after you and his followers. And don't worry, the Headmaster will explain all about that as well." She then turned back to Snape with a worried look on her face.

"Hey Sev, did you cast a _muffliato_?"

"Miss Tonks, half the people in this damned city are mad as hatters. The other half have become so accustomed to dealing with the insane that they tune out anything that doesn't have a remote amount of significance to their own lives. I didn't deem it necessary."

Tonks was about to reply when a bunch of oddly, colorfully dressed Spanish-looking men with instruments entered the train. They started playing and singing in Spanish in a manner that was about as soothing as nails on a chalkboard. Snape looked around and couldn't tell if he was more disturbed by the actual men with the instruments or by the fact that no one else on the train seemed as disturbed as he or even noticed the merry band of men. He turned to Amy, who didn't seem fazed in the least.

"Tell me that you see them too." He nodded his head toward the band, one of whose members was starting to go around with a cup to collect change.

"Oh, them? That's a Mariachi Band. They usually come onto the train, play a song, collect change, and go into another part of the train at the next stop."

"And doesn't anybody try to stop them? Surely they don't find this noise pleasing."

"Well, we treat them like we treat all of the annoying or crazy people in the city, we ignore them."

Tonks, however, was not ignoring them, and looked very pleased at the sight of them. When the smallest of the men came around with a cup, Tonks took a bronze Knut out of her pocket and put it in. The man looked at it and then looked back at Tonks. His look of humble begging changed into a look of confused annoyance.

"Ay, lady, what de hell ez dis? I'm trying to make a living here, ey?"

Tonks was confused by the man's change of demeanor. However, before she realized her mistake and could think of something to say, Amy stood up. She towered over the little man, and he backed one step away.

"Maybe you should try getting a real job, jackass." She glared at the man until the train stopped and he and his crew went to go assault the ears of the inhabitants of the next train car. She didn't sit back down until the doors closed again.

"How wonderfully Slytherin of you," Snape said, both shocked and amused at the same time.

"I'm not sure if that's an insult or a compliment, really. I guess I'll find out soon enough."

"I'd count it as an insult. If someone associated me with the House of Slytherin I'd spit on them." Tonks crossed her arms.

"Better to be a proud Slytherin than a cowardly Hufflepuff. All your kind is good for is setting short, talent-less Spanish men bearing instruments against us." Snape smirked as Tonks struggled to find an appropriate comeback and failed. Amy decided to ignore the words she didn't understand and find out more about the words that she did.

"So, this Headmaster guy who is supposed to tell me everything, what's he like?" Snape and Tonks exchanged glances, and different jumbles of words came out of their mouths.

"Well, it's hard to explai-"

"…kind, sweet, gentle…"

"…a bit eccentric at times…"

"…old but young-spirited, wise…"

"…one of the most powerful wizards of all time…"

"…like everyone's grandpa!"

Amy was a bit confused by all the words thrown at her and couldn't help but smile.

"Well, at least now I know what to expect." Then she looked out the window of the train.

"We're the next stop, guys." The group walked toward the doors, and this time both Snape and Tonks held on the metal poles. Soon enough the doors opened and Amy led the way up two flights of stairs.

_A/N: So sorry this took so long! I was going to make it one big chapter but then I realized that it would take FOREVER to get out, so I had to split it up into three different chapters. Love to my readers and reviewers._

_A/N 2: To RadicalReason, yes, they can still see them, but from what I understand about the spell people are usually too preoccupied with the buzzing sound in their ears to really notice things going on around them. Plus, it's New York, so people don't really notice anything unless it's on fire or biting them XD_


	6. Chapter 6: The Journey Part II

**Chapter 6: The Journey Part II**

After the trio walked up the stairs, they found themselves in a crowded, giant room with two floors. All they could see from their level was two rows of stairs and two rows of escalators leading up. Amy stopped and waited for Tonks and Snape to catch up with her.

"Oh no, not those again," Tonks panicked. At Amy's confused look, she added, "We had an…interesting experience at the school." Amy smiled.

"Well we could take the stairs instead, if you want." Snape rolled his eyes.

"Just because Miss Tonks isn't the most graceful person alive and doesn't understand how to simply stand still without falling on her face doesn't mean that no one else can. I, for one, prefer the escalator. It's faster and there is no reason why we should take the stairs."

"Fine then, you take the escalator and we'll take the stairs and we'll see who gets there faster." Tonks smiled manically and grabbed Amy's arm, dragging her in front of the stairs. Snape raised an eyebrow as he stepped onto the escalator.

"Okay, we're going to race him up the stairs. We need to run for it. Go!" Tonks shouted, and both girls held on to each other, laughing, as they ran up the stairs. Snape glared at them, as did the other people on the stairs. When they reached the top, both girls tripped slightly, but Amy had one hand on Tonks and one hand on the banister, so she saved them. They giggled as Snape, who slapped himself in the head, slowly made his way toward them.

"We…we beat…you!" Tonks said, gasping for air and pointing at Snape.

"Why yes, congratulations. You beat me at looking like a complete fool and endangering yourself and others. You deserve a prize." Snape folded his arms in front of his chest.

"Yes well… at least… we know how to…have fun."

All three of them stopped and looked around the room. The walls and floor were grey and the room was filled with matching grey chairs contained in rows of three. All the way to the left was a small café, and all the way to the right were entrances to the men's and women's bathrooms. People were walking back and forth, sitting down, and waiting in front of a pair of giant glass doors that led to the dock.

Two policemen holding tan dogs on leashes stood in front and watched people as they entered. A deep, male voice came out of a pair of unseen speakers.

"_Attention passengers, the 3:30 ferry is now open for passenger boarding, slip five, door number two."_

The glass doors opened and people herded together like cattle to try to squeeze through the doors before everyone else. Amy, Snape, and Tonks joined the tail of the group and followed the sea of people in front of them. Tonks looked at all the people confusedly.

"How are all these people going to fit onto one boat?"

"It's…well…you'll see," said Amy. Snape continued to glare at the other passengers who were completely ignoring his right to personal space. They soon boarded a large, three-level vessel that was orange on the outside and bore the name "Spirit of America." They walked down a ramp onto the lower level deck with mustard and ketchup colored seats. Amy led them towards the middle of the boat on the right side. The boat started moving slowly out of the dock, and a loud, obnoxious horn blew without warning. Snape went to reach for his wand, then stopped himself, and Tonks jumped and grabbed onto Snape. She quickly let go when she saw the scowl on his face. They finally sat down.

"Gryffindor colors," Snape sneered as the sat down in his blindingly bright red seat. No one replied to him; Amy had no idea what he was talking about, and Tonks was captivated by the view out the window of the Statue of Liberty.

"This wasn't exactly what I had in mind when you told us we'd be taking a boat. I expected it to be much smaller and…well less exciting. What a marvelous view!" Tonks continued to try to take in everything that was in her line of vision.

"It's a lot less marvelous when you see the same things every day twice. It is kind of nice though, I guess." Amy looked out the window at the things she had seen thousands of times before. Tonks turned to Amy and leaned back, resting her hands behind her head.

"Well, you know a bit about us now, but it seems like we hardly know anything about you. Why don't you tell us about your family or your hobbies?" Tonks then put her legs on the seat and wrapped her arms around them, looking at Amy in anticipation. Snape also waited for Amy to answer.

"Well, alright. My name is Amy Beckett, but you already know that. I'm a sophomore in college and I'm nineteen. I'm majoring in psychology." She was about to continue, but Tonks interrupted.

"Ooh, that sounds interesting! What is it?" However, before Amy could answer, Snape spoke up and both girls turned around and stared at him in surprise.

"Psychology is the study of the mind. About mental processes and individual behavior. It is very useful in discerning why certain people act the way they do."

"Why the bloody hell do you know that?" asked Tonks, who was in complete shock, which Snape found amusing.

"I've dabbled in areas of muggle studies before. I find much of it fascinating. Psychology is a very interesting subject, as are chemistry and literature. And do close your mouth, Nymphadora, that look is very unbecoming." Tonks was too shocked to hit him for using her first name, but closed her mouth and frowned. Amy thought that this would be a good time to continue her audio biography.

"Anyway, I like to write and sing. I also play piano, but I'm not very good. I like to listen to music, alternative rock mostly. I live with my dad, my brother, and my stepmother's father."

"Well that seems like an odd arrangement," Tonks interjected. Snape gave her a harsh look and she shrugged her shoulders.

"It wasn't always like that. My parents are divorced. My brother and I lived with my mom for a bit, but she was very neglectful and wound up getting together with another woman. We moved in with my dad and my step mom, but she passed away a couple of months ago. It's a shame really, I didn't even know her for that long and I considered her more of a mother to me than my real mother ever was." Amy turned her head and seemed to look very far away. Tonks covered her mouth with her hand while Snape gave her an "I-told-you-so" look. She then awkwardly embraced Amy.

"I'm so sorry! How horrible that is! I wish there were something I could do!" Amy tried to force a smile.

"Don't worry about it. I mean, it was pretty devastating, especially because it was so sudden. It's just me, my dad, and my brother now, but we're here for each other so that's all that matters." Snape's head turned at the word _sudden_ and his eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. However, he quickly dismissed whatever thought he had and tuned back to Amy and Tonks. He noticed Amy glaring at a bunch of loud foreigners taking pictures of Merlin-only-knew what. He was about to comment when an African American man in a tan suit and hat carrying a bunch of papers walked on to their side of the boat.

"JESUS!" The man exclaimed in a booming voice that made everyone in the surrounding area without a pair of headphones jump.

"JESUS is our light and our salvation! We sinners can only be saved through JESUS. Without JESUS, we will perish into the fiery depths of HELL!"

Snape and Tonks exchanged confused glances while Amy tried not to laugh. Snape leaned close to Amy's ear.

"What in the bloody hell is that madman raving about?" Amy couldn't help but start to giggle.

"I'm assuming that one of the "muggle" subjects you find fascinating isn't religion."

"Certainly not. I don't believe I've heard of a bigger pile of rubbish than muggle religion. No offense," He added as he realized that he might have offended Amy, who was indeed a muggle. She just laughed and waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't worry, I don't put any stock in it either. I figure that I don't know what the meaning of life is and I'm probably not going to guess, so why bother trying?" Snape let out a breath of relief.

"Indeed." The Jesus fanatic started getting louder and closer.

"It's alright if you're a sinner. I'm a sinner! We're all sinners! But by the powerful love of JESUS, we can be cleansed! We can cease to be sinners!" He threw up his hands and started trying to pass out pamphlets to people. When no one would take them he started dropping them onto people's laps, which earned him many more glares.

"Doesn't look like anyone's listening to the poor bloke, does it?" Tonks said with a look of pity.

"Guess not, but I feel worse for the people who have to listen to him. If people want to be preached to, they'd go to a Church. He doesn't need to be annoying everyone like this." Amy glared at the man, who apparently did not take the hint that nobody wanted to hear him.

"The rapture my brothers and sisters, the RAPTURE is upon us. Who will we turn to when it happens? Not our material possessions, Lord no, we'll turn to our Savior. Our Savior JESUS!"

"The rapture couldn't come soon enough." Snape put his hand to his head but quickly removed it, his eyes gleaming. "I've got an idea." In one swift motion he pulled his wand out of his pocket and slipped it up his sleeve without anyone noticing. "It's time to silence this lunatic."

"Bloody hell, Severus, you're not going to kill the man?" Tonks said, more serious than jokingly as she sat straight up in her seat.

"No, you bloody twit, I'm not going to kill him. I'm just going to shut him up." He turned to Amy. "I'm going to need some cover. I'm going to put my arm around you, and I need to lean diagonally into me. We can't have anyone else seeing this." Amy, who was more than excited but not completely sure what was about to happen, did as she was told. From their angle, no one was able to see Snape's wand sticking out of his sleeve. He pointed it at the preacher and said, "_Silencio_." The preacher, who was in the middle of a sentence, was in complete shock when his mouth continued to move but no sound came out. He tried to cough a few times and then speak, but to no avail. Some of the other passengers noticed this too, and were both grateful and amused.

"Thank Jesus!" a male voice exclaimed, which earned many laughs. The preacher walked up the stairs to the next deck, frustrated and flustered.

"Well done, Severus." Tonks said between laughs.

"That was SO COOL!" Amy stood straight up in disbelief. "I wish I could do that to people, I'd do it all the time!" Tonks laughed, and even Snape hazarded a small smirk.

"Well, if you did it all the time, you'd probably get in a bit of trouble. It is useful, though. There are worse things you could do to a person." Snape gave Tonks a sharp look to shut her up, which she did. He then quickly tried to change the subject.

"I hear you have very high marks in all your classes. The Headmaster says you're very intelligent." Amy blushed and looked down.

"Well I suppose. I mean, I'm not that smart and I'd like for some of my grades to be higher, but some of my professors are just out to get me." Amy crossed her arms and sat back down again.

"I understand what you mean," Tonks started. "I once had this potions professor who was so scary and nasty and who scared students so much that they had no choice but to drop whatever ingredients they were holding…what was his name again? Merlin's beard, he's sitting right next to you!" She feigned shock and pointed and Snape. Amy smiled and Snape glared.

"From what I remember, I had an insufferable student with a ridiculous first name who could barley stand straight up without falling every five minutes. Honestly, when there was nothing to trip over, she would trip over the air. I also remember that she couldn't control the magic within her, and her hair would frequently turn red whenever she fell or exploded a cauldron." He crossed his arms in satisfaction.

"Jesus, you two fight like an old married couple. Why don't you propose to her already?" Snape and Tonks both wore matching looks of disgust. Snape's look quickly turned into one of malice as he spoke up.

"And deny her werewolf boyfriend the privilege? I think not." Tonks quickly leaned over Amy and got right in Snape's face.

"Remus isn't my boyfriend! You don't know anything that goes on between us!"

"Please, I've seen the way you look at him. It's pathetic, really. How many years your senior is he again?" Tonks' face grew red.

"Shut up! At least I don't hold a grudge against a child because his father married a woman who you to this day cannot let go of-"

"ENOUGH!" Snape stood up at full length and towered over Tonks. He spun around in Amy's direction, which made her jump.

"Miss Beckett! Where is the loo?" After she looked at him sideways in confusion, he said, "the restroom. Where is it?"

"One deck above this one, in the middle," she said softly, confused and ashamed of the fight that she had been mostly responsible for.

"Thank you. I shall be back in a few minutes. Stay where you are." He briskly and angrily stalked up the stairs. Amy turned to Tonks apologetically.

"I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I mean, I didn't know…" She really didn't know how to finish. Tonks regained her air of composure.

"It's quite alright, really. You didn't know any better. I've stuck my foot in my mouth more times than I can imagine." Amy's look then changed to one of realization.

"So wait, werewolves are real?"

"Yep. Wait, how do you know about them?"

"Through muggle stories and urban legends. I never imagined that they actually existed; they're usually just a bit of fun. Kids like to dress up like them for Halloween and tell scary stories about them and stuff. I don't suppose vampires are real also." Tonks snorted.

"Actually, yes."

"What about trolls?"

"Yes."

"Giants?"

"Yes."

"Zombies?"

"Well, sort of. Their called Inferei. They're dead bodies that extremely dark wizards raise up in order to do their dirty work for them. I've never seen one myself, but I'd assume the sight of an army of them would be rather terrifying." Amy's eyes grew wide in disbelief.

"Wow. It's like I'm living in a fairy tale." Then she looked behind her to make sure Snape wasn't there. "So vampires, Severus isn't…?" she said unsurely, hoping Tonks would make the connection. Tonks chuckled and shook her head.

"No, dear Severus isn't a vampire. Although, the resemblance is uncanny." Amy then moved closer to Tonks. "How old is he, anyway?"

"Actually, I'm not exactly sure. Somewhere in his thirties, I imagine. He's a lot younger than he looks."

"He's kind of hot," Amy said, and Tonks looked at her like she had just grown nine more heads out of her neck.

"What!? Did you just say that you think Severus Snape is hot!?"

"What?" came a deeper, silkier male voice from behind Tonks and Amy. They both jumped, and Tonks thought quickly.

"She said, she thinks you must be hot because you're wearing a lot…of clothes!" Snape raised his eyebrow at Tonks, but didn't say any more about it. Amy actively avoided his glance and looked out the window. With relief in her eyes she saw the dock approaching.

"Oh look, we're here! We should get up and wait by the front." And with that, she sprang out of her seat. Snape and Tonks walked briskly to catch up with her. They walked up the stairs one deck all the way to the front of the boat where some people were already waiting. Amy turned to Snape and Tonks.

"Take out your metro cards, we're going to need them for the bus. You can give them to me, I'll put yours in. It's a little different than before we got on the train. Also, when we get off the boat, move quickly to the left. The bus we have to catch leaves pretty fast, but if we hurry we should have no problem." They both did as they were told, and Amy put the three metro cards in her pocket. Everyone watched as the boat slowed down and two uniformed men moved ropes around the ends of the boat. When the boat stopped completely, two platforms slowly descended until they became level with the boat. One of the uniformed men opened the gate, and everyone started pouring out of the boat. Snape, Tonks and Amy quickly walked to the left. They walked into a room that led to five different bus terminals and a set of stairs all the way to the right. Amy led them to a bus terminal labeled "A." They walked outside past at least four other busses until Amy stopped behind some people waiting in line in back of a sign that indicated the bus they were about to board was called the "s61." The person in front of Amy in line was a male with headphones whose pants were about three sizes too big. He simultaneously pulled them up while badly dancing to the loud rap music that was blasting out of his headphones. He looked like he was trying to swat away flies with his hands. Tonks looked at him and then at Amy, and both girls almost started laughing. Tonks whispered in Amy's ear.

"Do muggles do that a lot? Are those white thingies supposed to make you do that? I remember you wore those when we found you and you weren't doing that." This time Amy really did laugh.

"Those are for listening to music. And believe it or not, there are a large number of people who do this. Apparently they just can't control the urge to dance."

The line moved quickly and all of them got on the bus. Amy got on first, and then put Tonks and Snape's metro cards in as they entered. This might have seemed odd, but the bus driver, who was looking out the opposite window, failed to notice. Amy led them to an area past the back door where three free seats were located. The line was still pretty long, so they had a few minutes to kill before the bus actually moved. Tonks looked around.

"This is nothing like the Knight's bus. It's so small, and there's no food or beds!"

"The what?" Amy asked.

"Oh, silly me," Tonks laughed. "The Knight's bus is a bus that witches and wizards take when they're in an emergency or stranded. All they have to do to summon it is hold out their wand hand and…shit!" Tonks exclaimed as looked out the window and moved her back closer to the seat.

"Language, Miss Tonks," Snape mock-scolded her. Tonks turned toward Snape with a look that was a mixture of panic and annoyance.

"Well I'm sorry if I'm a little less concerned with my choice of words and more concerned about the fact that Malfoy and Dolohov are about to get on the bus!"

_A/N: This is probably the fastest I've every written a chapter. I've been very inspired in the past couple of days. Incase anyone is confused, the setting of the story is in the middle of OoTP. Everyone is alive so far, and Tonks and Lupin aren't officially together yet. Love to all my reviewers, you guys give me extra inspiration to write. And even the people who put my story on alert but don't review. I love you guys too )_


	7. Chapter 7: The Journey Part III

**Chapter 7: The Journey Part III**

"What?!" Severus Snape all but shouted. This caused many people on the bus to turn around and look at him, but he didn't care. He looked out the window and, sure enough, saw Lucius Malfoy and Antonin Dolohov impatiently and arrogantly standing on the line leaning onto the bus.

"Fuck!" Snape said in a voice that was just above a whisper. He leaned back as well, as if the two death eaters would be able to see him from their position on the ground, which was highly unlikely.

"What do we do now? We can't very well disapparatein a bus full of muggles!" Amy looked back and forth between Snape and Tonks. Her panic matched theirs, especially since she did not know what was happening.

"What's going on?" Snape turned toward her and Tonks.

"Miss Beckett, I'm afraid it would take too long to explain everything right now. I promise that once we are out of harm's way I'll explain everything. We need to get off this bus."

"But how are we going to do that without them seeing us? They're getting closer to the front!" Tonks chanced a look out the window and leaned back once more.

"We need to time it perfectly. As soon as Malfoy steps onto the bus and goes to swipe his metro card, we'll leave out the back door. If we do it after, he'll see us, and if we do it before, Dolovoh will see. There are enough people in front of us to provide adequate cover. Once we get off the bus we have to run back inside and find an abandoned area. Miss Beckett, it is absolutely imperative that you run as fast as you can inside and do not look back."

Amy went to look out the window, but Tonks and Snape both pushed her back.

"About how much danger are we in?" Amy asked, with fear in her eyes when she saw that there was no longer any humor in Tonks' face.

"We'll be in a lot more if you don't do exactly as I say," snapped Snape, who was carefully watching the movement of the line.

"Don't worry, dear. Severus and I are highly trained magical beings. We'll get you out of here in one piece." Tonks put a soothing hand on Amy's shoulder. Severus put his hand on her other shoulder, but in a less than soothing kind of way.

"Alright, get ready. When I say, go through the door and move back inside as fast as you can." He waited a few seconds for the perfect moment.

"Now!" he whispered sharply, just as Malfoy was stepping onto the bus and trying to figure out exactly how to put the card in. The three of them jumped out of their seats, pushed the back door open and ran back up the ramp that led indoors. They slowed down slightly once they got inside, but moved quickly as they found a small area by a group of telephones where there were no other people.

"Why the bloody hell were they there?" Tonks asked, surprisingly not out of breath.

"I don't know, but it can't be good. I'm assuming that they didn't see us beforehand, or I would have been summoned or dead. I'm also assuming that they don't know exactly where Miss Beckett lives, seeing as how they planned to follow her onto the bus. I don't know how they knew you were going to be on the bus at that time, but it worries me greatly. We're going to have to get to her house and back to Hogwarts as fast as possible." Amy just watched as the two continued speaking about things she didn't quite understand.

"Side-Along Apparition?" Tonks suggested.

"Exactly what I was thinking."

"Will it work?"

"We have no other choice." Snape tuned to Amy. "Miss Beckett, I need you to close your eyes and envision your room. Try to visualize every detail, everything that makes it unique." He and Tonks then grabbed on to Amy's waist. She gave them both a weird look, and all three of them closed their eyes. They all opened them again when nothing happened after about ten seconds.

"Are you thinking hard enough?" Snape asked Amy.

"Severus, it's not her fault," Tonks answered before Amy could. "It doesn't work if the person apparating doesn't know what the place looks like."

"I was afraid of that." Snape put his head down and then snapped it up quickly.

"I have an idea." He looked around to make sure no one was watching and took out his wand. He pointed it at Amy's head. At her look of panic he said, "don't worry, this won't hurt." He then put his free hand under her chin, looked her straight in the eyes and said, "_legilimens_!"

At first he was walking into a small house. A young boy, probably no older than sixteen, was shaking his head sadly at him.

An older man's voice was shouting, "she's dead, she's dead!" from a distance. Amy was moving slowly and kept looking around, not quite sure what was going on.

Snape swiftly removed himself from the memory and found one where he was in a relatively small room with grey walls. Amy, an adult male, a male around Amy's age, and the same younger male from the previous memory were moving pieces of furniture around the room.

He assumed that it was Amy's room, because Amy was directing everyone where to put the furniture. A cheery, older blonde woman came into the room with a tray full of drinks. The hairs on the back of Snape's neck stood up.

_There's something…about this woman_ he thought. _No time for that now_. Snape temporarily filed the woman's face in the back of his mind and formed a mental roadmap of where all the furniture in the room was. He took one more look around the room and broke the spell. Amy blinked a few times, obviously confused and slightly startled.

"I've got it, let's go." Snape grabbed on to Amy and Tonks grabbed on to him. Within seconds they appeared in the same grey room that Snape had seen in Amy's memory.

However, it was a lot brighter and fuller now. The bed, located in the middle of the room, was covered in bright orange sheets. One of the four walls was covered in pictures of what appeared to be a muggle rock band singer. The wall immediately opposite contained five various framed certificates of academic achievement. Opposite the bed was a large keyboard on a stand. The room was full of princess, pirate, and superhero memorabilia. Randomly placed socks were located around the room, and there was a desk next to the keyboard that looked like it desperately needed to be tidied up. In short, it looked like the room belonged to a brilliant, messy five-year-old.

Tonks looked around the room and smiled. "It's brilliant!"

Snape, instead, glared at the unmade bed and raised his eyebrow at a stuffed superman doll hanging from the ceiling. Amy blushed as she realized that her room was a lot messier than she had thought.

"Sorry about the mess. I wasn't exactly expecting company."

Snape was about to reply, when an obese black cat came out from a hidden corner in the room. It was all black except for white spots on its paws, chest, and one side of its mouth. It stretched slowly and tilted its head at Snape and Tonks, as if wondering who they were.

"What is _that_?" Snape smirked as the cat waddled in his direction.

"That's Chloe. My cat. Surely you've seen a cat before?" Amy raised her eyebrow to match Snape's.

"Of course I've seen cats before, I just don't think I've ever seen one that size. She's tremendous."

"Well I think she's adorable!" Tonks exclaimed as she went over to pat Chloe on the head. Snape turned his attention to the awards of merit on the wall. He read each one slowly.

"It appears that the Headmaster wasn't exaggerating," he said with a hint of approval. He then turned to look at the floor as Chloe started head-butting him in the leg.

"What does it want?" Snape asked, amused. Amy giggled.

"Well, when she realizes that you don't have any food for her, she'll settle for some attention." Both girls looked at each other in surprise as Snape bent down and scratched Chloe behind the ears. Without warning, Chloe collapsed onto her back and lifted her paws. Snape chuckled and rubbed her stomach. Tonks stared at Snape in disbelief, not wanting to say anything to ruin the moment.

"Can I take her with me? I'm the only one who's ever taken care of her, well, besides my step mom." Amy asked hopefully.

"Of course you can! Lots of the students have pets! Although, most of them are owls or toads. I myself had a turtle when I went to Hogwarts, but he wasn't very much fun." Tonks stopped talking as Snape stood straight up.

"We need to get going as soon as possible. Malfoy and Dolovoh must have realized by now that you're not on that bus. Thought I'm fairly confident that the Headmaster has recently put this house under magical protection, I'd like to get to the safety of Hogwarts as soon as possible."

"...About the bus episode…?" Amy started uncertainly.

"Later."

"What about the portkey?" Tonks asked. She indicated to the clock on Amy's night table. "It's not even…"

"Screw the damned portkey!" Snape exclaimed. "I'm sure the Headmaster will understand if we're a few hours ahead of schedule because our lives depended on it!" He then turned to Amy.

"What exactly do you need to bring with you, Miss Beckett?" Amy walked over next to Snape.

"Well I'll need my clothes, everything in my desk, a couple of things from the bathroom…wait. How are we going to get everything over there? I don't think I have any suitcases and surely we can't carry everything."

"Leave that to us!" Tonks said brightly as she opened one of Amy's drawers and pointed her wand at the shirts inside. "_Reducio!_" Amy's eyes widened as her shirts shrank to sizes small enough to only fit dolls. She watched as Snape did this with the clothes in her closet and the items on her desk.

"We're going to need something to put these in. Does it matter to you which bags we take?" Snape asked, amazed by the amount of pocketbooks in Amy's closet.

"Surprise me," Amy said, distractedly.

"Don't worry, we'll make your clothes right again once we get to your room. Now let's get into the bathroom and get your things from there." Tonks and Amy left Snape to shrink everything else in Amy's room while they went straight across the hall to the bathroom. It was a florescent white, with white and brown marble and brown decorative towels. Everything matched perfectly. Amy went into a drawer and started taking stuff out. Tonks stared at the curling iron that rested on the marble counter top.

"Oh, what's this?" Tonks asked as she picked it up.

"Tonks, don't!" Amy yelled, but she was too late. Tonks yelped and dropped the iron back onto the marble service. Snape burst into the room with his want out.

"What's happened?" he asked.

"I'm so sorry. I must have left that on this morning. Don't move, I've got just the thing!" Snape moved to the side as Amy ran out of the room. She came back seconds later, holding what looked like part of a plant. She broke it open and put it in Tonks' hand.

"What is that?" Snape asked suspiciously.

"Aloe," Amy said simply. "There are two aloe plants by the window in the living room. They come in useful, actually. I burn myself quite a bit." Snape's eyes narrowed.

"Where on Earth did you get aloe plants?"

"I don't know. My step mom got them. They've been here since before I moved in. Why?" Snape looked confused, then uncomfortable.

"It's just that…muggles don't usually have aloe plants. Think about it. A plant that has healing properties that automatically re-grows without you having to do anything to take care of it?" Amy's eyes lit up.

"I never thought about it that way. It does seem a bit magical." She turned to Tonks.

"How are you doing?"

Tonks laughed it off. "Please, I'll be fine. I've done much worse.

Snape shrunk the items in the bathroom that Amy had taken out and brought them into her room. It looked a lot larger now that most of the items in it had been shrunk.

"I took the liberty of shrinking everything that looked like it belonged to the cat." Snape said. Amy smirked to herself, imagining Snape shrinking the litter box and putting it with the rest of her stuff.

"I don't suppose we can shrink the cat," Snape joked. "Do you have a cage or something we can put her in?

"There's one right in here," Amy said as she reached into the closet. She pulled out a large, dome-shaped box with a small metal grate in front. She then took a piece of cat food and put it in the cage. Chloe waddled in, and Amy shut the door behind her.

"Sorry, Chloe. I'll let you out as soon as I can. Then you can have all the treats you want, okay?" Amy went to take the cage, groaned at its weight, and put it back down.

"I'll take her," said Snape, as he lifted it up with a little extra effort. Tonks leaned in close to Amy's ear. "If the cat goes missing, I'd check in Snape's rooms. He seems to like Chloe more than he likes most people." Amy smiled.

"Is everybody ready?" Snape asked seriously.

"Can't we just see the rest of the house?" Tonks whined.

"No. And if you ask another stupid question, I'll put you in the damned cage instead. Make sure we have everything, we're not coming back today." Everyone took one or two bags and then joined together in the middle of the room. Snape disapparated first with the cat. Tonks held onto Amy and they went next. All three of them appeared in front of the gates of Hogwarts.

"I don't see anything but a burned down old building," Amy said, sounding disappointed.

"You'll have to wait until we get inside, dear. It's charmed to look like that from the outside to muggles. They usually don't come here on purpose," Tonks explained.

She held open the gate for Amy, who stopped walking as soon as she got inside. She looked all around, at the castle in the distance, at the students running around outside playing with brightly colored, flying balls and exploding cards, and at the eccentric looking man with a very long beard, half-moon spectacles, and amethyst purple robes coming toward them with a pleasantly surprised look on his face.

_A/N: As always, thanks and love to my wonderful reviewers. Especially those who review each chapter. To chocolaterox92, about the Snape/OC thing, I really haven't thought about it lately. I don't want to give anything away by giving a definite yes or no, but it's really up to the characters. They write themselves, really. Hope this answer, or lack thereof, doesn't frustrate you _


	8. Chapter 8: The Castle

**Chapter 8: The Castle**

Albus Dumbledore walked down the path away from the castle to where Snape, Tonks, and Amy stood. Although he seemed slightly confused, his voice was full of cheer as he addressed them.

"Severus! Miss Tonks! And this must Miss Beckett! How lovely to finally meet you!" He took not one, but both of her hands in his own and squeezed them fondly. She was about to reply politely when he continued to speak.

"I must admit, I hadn't expected you for another hour and a half. I was just going for my afternoon walk, you see. On such a beautiful day, I simply couldn't bear to stay indoors…" Snape decided to forgo formalities and interrupted.

"We were almost seen by Death Eaters, Albus. Malfoy and Dolohov, to be more precise. We were on the bus when we noticed that they were about to enter as well. We managed to exit just in time, but I am greatly disturbed by the entire situation."

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes dimmed considerably. "We shall discuss this further in my office." Without another word, the Headmaster walked at a speed that Amy had not thought a man of his age capable of toward the castle. One look from Tonks told Amy that she should follow, which all three of them did.

To the students who were outside enjoying the weather, this was a very odd sight: The Headmaster, briskly leading Severus Snape, who was levitating a cage with a large, black cat in front of him, Nymphadora Tonks, with her shamrock-green pigtails, and Amy Beckett, who wasn't immediately distinguishable except for the fact that she was wearing muggle clothing and looked unfamiliar. In fact, if she had been wearing a cloak and wasn't looking around like she had never seen anything even remotely related to the wizarding world before, she would have blended in perfectly.

There was a certain pattern to it: a group of students would be playing, when one of them would see this unusual sight in front of him or her. The student would then alert the others, who would stare, point, and whisper. Amy certainly noticed this, as did Tonks.

"Don't worry, we won't have to deal with the staring for much longer. There's a secret passage that leads to Professor Dumbledore's office very close to the entrance. Not many people know about it, well, obviously, because it's a secret, but most of the professors do, as do members of the Order…" Snape stopped Tonks from babbling further and gave her a dirty look.

"I hate to interrupt your terribly intelligent conversation, but if you wish for the things that you are talking about to remain secret, perhaps it is unwise to discuss them within earshot of everyone in the castle!" Tonks stopped talking and crossed her arms over her chest.

As they passed by the Forbidden Forest, they heard a sudden, deep howl. Amy stopped walking for a second but was forced to keep going when Tonks pulled her by the arm.

"That's the Forbidden Forest. Don't look so alarmed, it was probably just a werewolf or something. Never been in there myself, generally students aren't allowed in there. Must have heard that announcement seven times during my stay at Hogwarts. Who knows what even lives in there now? Amy gave the Forest a wary look before turning to look at the castle. She was breathless as she tried to take in the grandeur of it all.

However, she was distracted by a slight movement to her right. She turned to see an enormous lake whose surface brimmed with movement. Suddenly, she saw a pair of eyes staring at her from beneath the surface. When Amy started right back at the eyes, they disappeared, and were replaced by what looked like a large tail fin splashing in the water. Amy turned to Tonks in confusion.

"Was that…?"

"Merpeople," Tonks finished for her. "Not very friendly, if you ask me. I fell into that lake once, and instead of helping me out, they gave me dirty looks and called me a 'bright bloody klutz.' They probably said other things but I couldn't hear them once I got above the water. Would have said something back if they didn't all swim away. Apparently there's also a Giant Squid in the lake, but I've never seen him. Or her. Then again, after the merpeople incident I never really went near the lake again."

Snape sneered at her and Tonks rolled her eyes.

"What, am I not allowed to play tour-guide now? I don't think I'm spilling any real big secrets here. Everyone has heard of the Giant Squid and there's really no reason why…"

Tonks was interrupted once again, but this time by three people bursting out of the door that Dumbledore was heading toward. Two of the people looked exactly alike, from their identical uniforms to their matching, bright red hair. They were being dragged by their ears by an angry, dirty-looking man with his stringy brown and grey hair matted to his head. When he spotted the Headmaster, he stopped in his tracks and turned to the two boys.

"Oh, we really are in for it now, aren't we? Detention every day for the rest of your lives! Or perhaps the Headmaster will have the good sense to expel you once and for all!" He started to cackle manically when Dumbledore stopped him.

"Argus! Explain yourself!"

Tonks mouthed a quick _Wotcher_ to the twins, who exchanged glances and smiled.

"Unhand us, you great donkey!" exclaimed the twin on the right.

"Yeah, you've got the wrong guys!" yelled the other one.

"Wrong guys, indeed!" spat Filtch. He then turned to Dumbledore.

"Headmaster! These boys have been creating cursed candy and giving it out to the other students! Young Draco got his hands on them and brought them to me immediately! Here there are!" He handed Dumbledore a clear plastic bag filled with caramel-colored, harmless- looking, round, hard candies.

"Well they certainly don't look dangerous," Dumbledore chuckled, the twinkle returning to his eye. "And what are these wonderful-looking sweets supposed to do, Argus?"

"They- they do all sorts of nasty things. Make people vomit, give them nosebleeds, terrible things! The sort of things dark wizards would want to do!" He pointed a shaky finger at the twins.

"And how do you know this, Argus? Did you witness it happen yourself?" Filtch looked annoyed.

"Well of course I didn't see it, I told you that Draco told me…"

"And did you yourself eat one of these harmful treats?" Filtch looked exasperated.

"Of course not! I don't want any dark magic running through my veins!" Snape stiffened at these words. Dumbledore unwrapped one of the candies.

"Well I apologies, Argus, but I'm going to need more proof than that. If I start vomiting uncontrollably or bleeding profusely, feel free to allow Minerva to inflict as much punishment on the Weasley's as she deems necessary." Fred and George both gave each other worried looks. Tonks, however, discretely took out her wand and whispered something that was impossible to hear when she covered it up with a cough.

Dumbledore popped the sweet into his mouth and stroked his beard thoughtfully. The twins let out the collective breath that they had been holding when they saw that nothing happened.

"Mmmmm, butterscotch! Not my favorite, but a very close second." He winked at the twins, and Tonks hid her smile behind her hand. Amy watched with interest, and Snape glared wordlessly at the twins' general direction. Filtch's face turned bright red.

"But they…but I….it can't be…aren't you going to do something about this?" He turned to Dumbledore, who chuckled.

"Like what, Argus? Surely carrying delicious candy isn't a crime. If it were, I'd have been sent to Azkaban long ago." He then turned to Fred and George. "Off you go now, boys. It's too lovely a day to spend indoors, wouldn't you agree?" He smiled and the boys looked at him gratefully.

"Beautiful day, indeed!" said Fred.

"Good day Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Tonks…" George paused when he looked at Amy. Then he bowed before her and kissed her hand. "And who is this wonderful creature?" Amy giggled, but Snape glared and him and stepped in front of Amy, blocking her from his view. The twins quickly ran outside to enjoy their freedom. Filtch, who had been previously opening and closing his mouth without words coming out, was absolutely furious.

"But…but…surely they charmed the candy to lose its effect when you tasted it! Surely they did something to fool us! I'm sure of it!"

"Now now, Argus. How could they have done that? We were standing right here, after all. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some very important business to attend to."

With that, Dumbledore led Tonks, Snape and Amy toward the front doors and into a long, dark corridor. He stopped at a statue of a man with a horse's body holding a bow and arrow, ready to shoot. Dumbledore touched the tip of the arrow with his wand, and the Centaur moved to the right to reveal a door. They all stepped through and walked up several flights of stairs until they were blocked by yet another statue. This one was of a gargoyle. Dumbledore said "pumpkin pasties" and the gargoyle sprang to the side, revealing even more stairs.

Two flights later, they all finally reached Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore sat behind a rather cluttered desk in a large, overstuffed armchair. On the other side of the desk were only two additional chairs. Snape sat in one and gestured for Amy to sit in the other. Tonks remained standing.

"Something's missing…where's your Phoenix?" Tonks asked, looking around the room.

"Fawkes is out on a little mission for me at the moment. I'm afraid he won't be back for a few days," Dumbledore said as he picked up a tray of yellow sweets. "Lemon drop?" Tonks and Snape both shook their heads, and Amy followed their lead. Dumbledore smiled.

"It would appear that I need to find some new candy for my office, seeing as how nobody ever wants a lemon drop."

Suddenly, an alarm coming from Tonks' direction went off. She twisted the tip of her wand and it stopped.

"Looks like I have to be getting back to the Ministry now. I'm probably going to be patrolling Hogsmead tonight; apparently there's a rumor of increased dementor activity there. Cheery business, that."

Dumbledore stood up and took one of her hands in his. "Very well then, Miss Tonks. Thank you so much for bringing Miss Beckett here without harm. If you ever need anything, no matter how trivial, do not hesitate to contact me." Tonks smiled.

"Great, thanks." She then turned to Amy. "It was lovely meeting you. I'll be back some time next week to check up. Don't let Severus over there boss you around." Snape gave her a dirty look as she half stumbled out of Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore sat back down and looked at Snape and Amy seriously.

"I apologize, Miss Beckett, for I have not formally introduced myself. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I trust that you have already become acquainted with Severus, one of our distinguished professors. I trust he has explained why you're here?" He took off his glasses and put them on the desk in front of him.

"Well…kind of. Some big scary wizard guy is out to get me and apparently I'm safe here?" She shrugged and looked at Dumbledore. He chuckled, but in a sad sort of way.

"I see Severus here hasn't been very specific with you. You see, my dear, there is a very powerful, very dark wizard. He goes by the name Voldemort, but very few are brave enough to actually call him that. He is also known as You-Know-Who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or simply his given name, Tom Riddle. His purpose is to eventually rid the world of muggles and all things related to them. I trust you know what a muggle is?" He paused and waited for her to answer.

"Yes, I'm one. So wait, if he wants to kill all of us, what makes me so different?" Dumbledore sat up straighter in his chair.

"Well…that's exactly it. We do not think he intends to kill you, at least initially." He paused and Amy looked at him in confusion.

"I must stress that from now on, whatever is discussed stays in this office. I understand this all must be difficult for you to take in right now, but it is imperative that, for your own safety and for the safety of the entire wizarding world, you do not discuss what we tell you with anyone else. Is that understood?" Amy didn't say anything. She just nodded and waited for Dumbledore to continue.

"Voldemort has followers, who call themselves Death Eaters. You were nearly seen by two of them today. Death Eaters will do anything to gain Voldemort's favor. They torture and kill people in his name. Severus and I, however, are part of an organization called the Order of the Phoenix, aimed at fighting Voldemort and making the world safe for both wizards and muggles. We also have ways, which do not need to be discussed at this moment, of finding out what goes on at the meetings that Voldemort has with his followers."

"We managed to discover that the Dark Lord was most certainly looking for you," Snape started. "He did not mention why, but emphasized that it was very important to find you. We decided to that it would be best if we found you first."

"And we were successful, and not a moment too soon." Dumbledore added. Snape shifted uneasily in his chair.

"Headmaster, what happened today greatly troubles me. There are others living in Amy's house. It's only a matter of time before…" Dumbledore held out his hand to stop him.

"Have no fear, Severus, the house is under magical protection. It has been ever since…well…ever since I deemed it necessary." Severus couldn't help but notice the quiver in Dumbledore's voice and briefly wondered what the Headmaster was hiding. However, he decided to save that thought for another day. Amy decided to speak up.

"So about how long will I be staying? What happens when this dark wizard looses interest in me?" Dumbledore looked up to the ceiling as if it held the answer and looked back at Amy.

"My dear, I will not be confident of your safety until Voldemort has been eliminated. While the Order is working to prepare for that day, it could take months or even years. However, do not feel like you are trapped in the castle. You may go home for holidays, although you will need to have someone with you most of time." Amy tilted her head toward Dumbledore in a confused sort of way.

"Well if everyone would be better off if he was dead, why has no one killed him yet?" Snape became very tense.

"Do not underestimate the power of the Dark Lord, Miss Beckett. He cannot be killed by ordinary wizarding means. There are going to be a lot of things you won't understand, and you would do well to remember that." Snape crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the wall.

"Now Severus, she didn't know any better. Amy, dear, after the day comes that Voldemort is destroyed, and I am very certain that day shall come, you will be returned home and all of your affairs will be taken care of. However, we might have to _obliviate_ you for good measure." At this Amy stood up and started backing away toward the door.

"What!?" She exclaimed. Dumbledore chuckled lightly.

"Darling, it's not nearly as terrifying as it sounds. I simply meant erase your memory of this world. Please do sit back down, we have one more thing to discuss." Amy slowly walked back to her seat and sat down.

"Now, we think it would be best if you didn't let anyone know that you are a muggle. Some of the students have parents with…shall we say…questionable loyalties?" Amy decided to take another chance.

"Then why are they allowed to attend the school?" She asked, truly confused. Dumbledore put his glasses back on.

"Well, dear, you cannot blame a child for his or her parents' actions. I know that better than anybody," answered Dumbledore with a look of nostalgia in his eyes. He continued.

"Now then. We also think it would be a good idea if you went by another name." Amy, however, wasn't paying attention. She looked around the room and noticed that her cat and her belongings were no longer in the room.

"Chloe?" she asked.

"That's a wonderful name!" Dumbledore replied excitedly.

"No I mean…well I guess that works but…where's my cat?"

"The house elves have taken your belongings back to your room. They will be there when you arrive." Dumbledore started stroking his beard again.

"House whats?" Amy asked.

"Elves, dear. House elves. Very quick, efficient creatures. Without them, witches and wizards would surely be at a loss. Now. You shall tell people that your name is Chloe…Chloe White. If anyone asks, we shall tell then you are training with Professor Snape to become a Potions Mistress. You will be staying in the dungeons, very close to Professor Snape's own quarters. And don't worry, your rooms will be very comfortable," Dumbledore added at Amy's look of distaste. Snape put his hand up to his forehead.

"Headmaster, do you really thing it wise, housing Miss Beckett so close to the Slytherin common room? There are, as you say, students with questionably loyalties."

"Ever the worrier, aren't you, my boy?" Dumbledore reached across his desk and patted Snape affectionately on the shoulder. "I fully trust that Miss Beckett is in good hands. Now, if there is nothing else to discuss…" Dumbledore was interrupted when Minerva McGonagall and a breathless Harry Potter burst into his office.

"Albus! Potter here has been having those visions again. I am afraid…oh dear." She stopped as she noticed that Dumbledore wasn't alone in the room.

"Have I interrupted something?"

"Not at all, Minerva, we were just finishing up. Minerva, Mr. Potter, this is Miss White." Dumbledore winked at McGonagall. "The one we've been expecting."

"Charmed," said McGonagall tersely. Potter didn't say anything, but glared at Snape, who glared right back.

"My goodness, look at the time!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "It's nearly time for the feast! Minerva, Mr. Potter, we'll discuss this here immediately afterward." McGonagall nodded, and her and Potter left the room. Dumbledore stood up, and Snape and Amy followed his lead.

"Shall we?" Dumbledore asked, and led the way to the Great Hall.

_A/N: This chapter took a long time to get out for two reasons. One...I wasn't very inspired since my last chapter only got one review. If you're bored with the story, let me know. The one review I did got, however, kept me going, so thank you to chocolaterox. Also, my computer is slowly breaking and deleted parts of the chapter more than once. I'll probably be able to get out one or two more chapters before I go on vacation on July 3rd, but that depends on my mood. _


	9. Chapter 9: The Feast

**Chapter 9: The Feast**

The Great Hall was buzzing with the conversations of hungry and confused students, especially from the Gryffindor table.

"Bloody hell, why hasn't the food appeared yet? I'm starved!" said a very impatient Ron Weasley.

"Honestly, Ron, didn't you just eat an hour ago? And besides, there has to be a reason for the delay. Professor Dumbledore must have something important to say. Maybe it has to do with that girl sitting next to Professor Snape. I don't think I've seen her before." Hermione Granger studied Amy's face intensely.

"She was in Dumbledore's office when Professor McGonagall dragged me in," Harry Potter added. "She's probably a new professor."

"But in the middle of the school year?" Hermione asked. "It doesn't seem very logical, does it?"

"Are we talking about my mysterious future wife?" George chimed in from behind Hermione.

"I wouldn't get too attached, my dear brother," said Fred. "You saw how protective Snape was of her, maybe she's his girlfriend."

"May Merlin strike you down with a bolt of lighting for such a horrid thought!" George exclaimed, putting his hand over his mouth in mock horror. "A creature that beautiful would never go out with a great bat like that."

"I don't know, she looks half his age. She could be his daughter," Hermione observed.

"Blimey, Hermione, that's worse! What would possibly mate with _that_?" Ron asked, disgusted.

"Ronald, he is a grown wizard. He has the same urges as anyone else. There is absolutely no reason why he can't have a normal sexual li—"

"DON'T SAY IT! I'm not listening, lalalalala." Ron turned away from Hermione and covered his ears with his hands. Hermione rolled her eyes. At that moment, Dumbledore finally stood up.

"Your attention, please!" When the room was not completely silent, he lifted his wand to his throat.

"Your attention, PLEASE." The room went silent.

"Wonderful. I assume that most of you have by now realized that dinner has not yet been served. However, I have two brief announcements I would like to make before we indulge. Firstly, it has come to my attention that a large number of students have been showing up at Hogsmeade while classes are in session." He tilted his head slightly toward the Slytherin table. "Students are reminded that truancy will not be tolerated, and any students found skipping classes, in Hogsmeade or not, will be reprimanded accordingly." Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins rolled their eyes.

"Secondly, I would like to introduce someone very special to all of you today. Seated on Professor Snape's right is Miss Chloe White. She is our new Potions Mistress in training, and will be studying under Professor Snape. I trust that you will be kind to her, and I ask that you extend to her a warm and sincere welcome." Everyone clapped.

"Great, does that mean we won't have to deal with the greasy git much longer?" Ron whispered. Hermione poked him in the ribs.

"Ron, shut it!"

Meanwhile, Snape softly kicked Amy from under the table. When she looked out him confusedly, he leaned over to her ear and said, "Now would be a good time to stand." She looked over at Dumbledore for confirmation, and he nodded. Slowly she stood up, bright red, and realized that there were a lot more people in the room than she thought. Snape leaned in again.

"Say something!" Amy struggled for a moment or so before awkwardly saying, "Thanks, I look forward to meeting you all." She quickly sat back down and hid behind her goblet. Dumbledore sat down as well.

"Now then, without anything further, eat!" Food appeared on every table in the Great Hall, and all of the goblets filled with liquid. Amy stared in amazement but didn't move when everyone else's plates and silverware clinked and shifted.

"Might I infer than you are not quite accustomed to having food suddenly appear before you?" Snape smirked.

"Can't say that I am," laughed Amy.

"Chloe, please, help yourself! I daresay you've had a very trying day, we wouldn't want you passing out on us," Dumbledore said cheerfully.

"I guess I am pretty hungry, I don't even remember the last time I ate." Amy scooped a large serving of mashed potatoes on to her plate and joined it with some ham and corn. She looked into her goblet and tentatively took a sip of whatever was in there. She choked for a few seconds but quickly regained her composure.

"What was that?" she asked Snape.

"First of all, if you are going to be a Potions Mistress, might I suggest that you should make it a habit not to ingest strange liquids before you are absolutely certain of what they are. And it's firewhisky."

"Well that explains the intense burning feeling." Amy's look of understanding turned into one of excited realization. "Wait, did you say whisky? I'm allowed to drink here?" Snape raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why wouldn't you be? The legal drinking age here is eighteen, and you are nineteen, are you not?"

"Yes, of course I am. The drinking age in the US is twenty-one. This is awesome! Do we get refills?" Snape smirked.

"I think one glass is enough for now. I do not need a tipsy teenager banging on my dungeon door at all hours of the night." Amy smiled and looked around the room.

"Why are the students color-coordinated with their tables?" Amy asked.

"Those represent the four different Hogwarts Houses, named after the four founders of Hogwarts," Snape started to explain.

"Why four different ones? Why can't the whole school have one big one?" Snape looked thoughtful for a minute and put down his goblet.

"Well, it's a bit complicated. Although the four founders had basically the same goal, that is, to educate children with magical ability, they all valued different qualities. The house of Gryffindor, the students in the red and gold, are supposedly known for bravery, but I've only ever seen foolhardiness and arrogance come from it. The house of Hufflepuff, in the black and yellow, are known as being loyal, but I haven't seen a bigger bunch of wimps in my days. The house of Ravenclaw, in the bronze and blue, are known for their intelligence, but they haven't got the common sense or the guts to use it. Now the Slytherin, on the other hand, in the silver and green, not only are cunning, fierce, and intelligent, but they know how to put all three to good use." He nodded approvingly toward the Slytherin table.

"I don't know," Amy said. "They look kind of…mean. And Tonks didn't seem to like them very much."

"That is because Miss Tonks was a Hufflepuff. They're afraid of their own shadows, the lot of them.

"Not putting down my house again, are you, Severus?" asked Pomona Sprout jovially.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Snape replied as he took a sip of Firewhisky. Sprout then turned to Amy.

"So nice to meet you dear! I'm Professor Sprout, but you can call me Pomona. If you ever need any plants from the Greenhouse, feel free to come down any time you like!"

"Thank you," said Amy, not really knowing what else to say.

"My, what an accent on you! You from the States?" asked Madame Hooch, who leaned in front of Sprout.

"Yes," answered Amy. "I must sound really strange to all of you."

"Nonsense! If anything, you sound exotic. Do you follow Quidditch at all?" Amy looked at Snape for help, and he almost imperceptibly shook his head. However, Hooch kept talking.

"The sport is rather young in North America. Are you a fan of any particular team?" Amy was grateful for the opening.

"No, I've never really been into sports. My dad though…he follows…Ireland." Snape raised an eyebrow at her.

"Ireland…not bad. Their seeker seems to have a lazy eye though. Not the worst team you could root for though, certainly not. Has Severus given you a tour of the castle yet?" Amy shook her head

"No, I've only just arrived."

"Right then." Then she learned behind Sprout and whispered into Amy's ear. "It will be good for Severus to work with someone so young and pretty, goodness knows it can't hurt him." Both females giggled and Snape scowled at them. Apparently Hooch was not a very quiet whisperer.

"What is your wand made out of, dear?" inquired Flitwick from Severus' left.

"Uhh…" Amy started, but was saved by Dumbledore.

"Oh, that reminds me, my dear! We need to get to Ollivander's to get you a new wand. Old one got destroyed on the way over here, you see," he explained to Flitwick.

"How awful!" Flitwick exclaimed in his squeaky voice. "And what school did you attend in America, dear?"

"I…umm…" Amy looked down at the table for some help. "For…Forkplate…Forkplate School for the Magically Gifted!" she came up with. Snape choked slightly on his potatoes and Dumbledore conveniently dropped his spoon and bent down to pick it up.

"Hmm…I think my niece's roommate went there before she moved to London," Flitwick said thoughtfully. After a few minutes, dinner disappeared and was replaced with dessert. Amy looked up at Snape.

"And this happens every day?" she asked with her eyes wide.

"Thrice," said Snape. Amy smiled.

"I think I'm going to like it here."

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Amy and Snape were walking in the dungeons when they stopped in front of a plain, brown door.

"This will be your room. Mine is directly across the hall, over there," Snape said as he pointed to each room. "Pick a password for yourself."

"A password?" Amy asked. "What for?" Snape frowned.

"To get into your room, of course. I thought that much would be obvious. The password you choose will let you into both your room and mine. However, seeing as how that was not my idea, I'd prefer if you knocked before you entered. I'm not used to teenage muggle girls bursting into my room and I don't plan on becoming used to it. Pick something you will remember." Amy looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Muffins!" Snape stared at her in disbelief.

"Come again?"

"I just…like muffins," Amy said sheepishly.

"Fine. Muffins it is. No one is to know the password except for the both of us. Keep that in mind before you start inviting strange males into your room." Amy put her hands on her hips.

"What? I don't plan on inviting strange males into my room, Severus. Well besides you, that is." Snape glared at her, then pointed his wand at her door. It turned blue for a second, and then turned back to brown again.

"Muffins," Snape said, and the door opened.

The room was rather ordinary. The walls were a dark grey with a greenish black trim. The bed was covered in dark green sheets with silver serpents. A long, black desk stood in front of the only window in the room. A dresser filled with Amy's clothing, returned to normal size, stood on the left of the bed. Chloe roamed around freely, sniffing everything that she came into contact with. Snape stayed by the door as Amy walked in further to study the room.

"Alright. Your bed is over there, and the bathroom is just through that door on the right," Snape pointed. "If you have any questions, you know where to find…"

"Wait!" Amy yelled. Snape turned back toward her and raised his eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"You can't just leave now! What if something goes wrong? I don't know what I'm doing!" Amy said, desperately.

"Really, Miss Beckett, I am just down the hall. Now, if you do not have any immediate questions…"

"But I do! First of all, could you please call me by my first name? You sound like my old gym teacher when you call me 'Miss Beckett.' Snape smirked and inched closer to the door.

"I'm not done yet! What are those pots doing over there on the desk?" She pointed to a group of differently sized cauldrons.

"Those are cauldrons, not pots. They're for your potions lessons." Amy's eyes widened.

"Potions lessons?"

"Of course. No one is going to believe that you are a Potions Mistress in training if you do not know how to brew a simple potion. We will meet every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at eight p.m. to brew some potions. You cannot assist me in the classroom if you can't even pretend you know what you're doing."

"You mean, I'm going to sit in on classes?" Amy asked, surprised.

"Of course, you silly girl. Now, I am going to go back to my room."

"No, don't!" Amy grabbed his arm in an attempt to make him stay.

"Really, what is it now?" Snape asked, exasperated.

"I just…can I stay with you tonight? It's my first night in the castle, I don't want to be alone."

"Absolutely not," Snape growled, crossing his arms over his chest. "You are a grown woman, there is no reason why you would not be able to…"

"Well then can I just stay with you until it's time to go to sleep? I promise I'll leave before then. Please?" Snape's whole body sighed.

"Fine. But you will sleep in your own room, like a big girl. Understood?"

"Yes," Amy said as she smiled. She followed Snape into his room, which was almost identical to hers except it was bigger, full of various books and potions supplies, and contained a fireplace. She looked out of his window.

"How can it be raining outside? There was just sunshine coming in from the window in my room." Amy asked.

"The windows are charmed," Snape explained. "Since we are underground, ordinary windows would be quite pointless. Have a seat, won't you?" Amy looked around. All of the chairs around the room were covered with books or pieces of parchment. She sat down on the bed.

"It's rather dark in here," Amy observed.

"I don't usually have visitors," Snape said.

"I see." Amy looked around the room and tried to think of something to say.

"So…do you like, have a family? Or a girlfriend, maybe?" Amy asked.

"Not that my personal affairs are any of your business, but I have neither. If you are going to pry into my past, you may as well leave now." Amy didn't move or say anything, so Snape spoke up.

And yourself? Is there a significant other in the picture?" Amy laughed.

"No. Well, there's this guy in one of my classes, but I don't even know if…and I mean I don't see how we could…no," she finished lamely.

"I see." There was an awkward silence, when Amy gasped and sat up suddenly.

"What is it?" Snape asked.

"I…it's just…where would I get…medicine?" Snape looked puzzled, then alarmed.

"The Hospital Wing, why? Are you hurt? What kind of medicine?"

"I'm not hurt, I just…there's this medicine that I've been taking…I mean...I might not need it anymore, I was just wondering in case I…needed it again." Snape was confused.

"Amy, Madame Pomphery is a very capable Mediwitch. Magical medicine is far superior to muggle medicine. I'm sure whatever is wrong with you can be fixed with a simple potion." Amy turned red again.

"It's just…well I mean…it's a bit embarrassing actually. I think I'd rather talk to a woman about it." Snape rolled his eyes.

"Miss…Amy. I'm not going to judge you based on a medical issue you may or may not have." Amy looked down.

"Birth control," she said.

"Pardon?" Snape asked, clearly not expecting that answer.

"They put me on birth control. But it's not for what you think," she said before Snape could say anything. "There was something…wrong with me. I went for tests and the doctors couldn't figure it out, so they put me on birth control. Whatever the problem was has gone away, so I probably don't need it anymore…"

"And you've never…" Snape started.

"No!" Amy answered before he could finish.

"So the muggle doctors and they're tests couldn't figure out what was wrong with you?"

"No."

"And would you like to go into detail about what was wrong with you?"

"No." Snape put his hand up to his chin and thought for a moment.

"Fine. Some day next week we shall schedule you an appointment with Madame Pomphery. Is that alright with you?" Amy looked up and smiled gratefully.

"It's fine! Thank you." Snape walked over to an enormous bookshelf and pulled out a bright, yellow book.

"Now. I am going to my office to grade a few essays I didn't have time for before. When I get back, I will show you to your room…again. While I'm gone you can read this." He handed her the book.

"Personality Disorders and Their Diagnoses. Awesome! I love personality disorders!" Amy exclaimed as she excitedly opened the book.

"Good. Not try not to move around that much. If I hear the sound of anything breaking, I'm never letting you in my room again. Understand?"

"Mhm," Amy said noncommittally, not looking up from the book. Snape turned around to leave. When he emerged twenty minutes later, Amy was fast asleep in his bed, with the book closed right next to her.

"Bloody hell," Severus said, shaking his head as he moved the book onto his desk. He went into the bathroom, came out a few minutes later, and settled himself on his couch for the night.


	10. Chapter 10: The Exploration

**Chapter 10: The Exploration**

Albus Dumbledore looked sternly at Harry Potter, who was seated at the other side of his desk next to Minerva McGonagall.

"Now, Harry, these dreams of yours have been getting worse lately?" Harry shifted in his seat and looked down.

"Visions, actually. I mean, I still have the nightmares about Ced…well, I still have nightmares. But these…these are different. They happen when I'm awake. It's almost like I can…see what he's seeing and feel what he's feeling." Dumbledore took off his glasses and started cleaning them thoughtfully.

"I do not think you should dwell upon these visions, Harry. Perhaps they are a trap set purposely by Tom, or maybe they are the result of the extreme stress that you are under-"

"I'm not stressed!" Harry banged his fist on Dumbledore's desk and stood up. Both McGonagall and Dumbledore looked slightly taken aback. Harry sat down sheepishly.

"Well, I mean, of course I am. But I don't think that's it! He was very angry today! I felt it! Someone messed up…his followers…they made a mistake…they lost something important, or couldn't find it in the first place…I just…what if he doesn't know about this? What if I can help the Order with this…" Dumbledore gave McGonagall a worried look and held his hand up.

"Harry, Tom may be many things, but an idiot he is not. If there is any connection between the two of you, he will be very much aware. If these visions become more severe over time, I am afraid we will have to act. However, for now, it would be best to ignore them. Look at the time! It's getting late, wouldn't want you to sleep through your morning class! Goodnight, Harry! Sleep well!" Harry slowly got out of his chair.

"Goodnight Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall." As soon as he left, McGonagall straightened up in her chair.

"Albus, do you think it odd that Potter is under the impression that You-Know-Who is angry that he lost something the day we find Miss Beckett and bring her here? Why could he possibly want Potter to know about that?" Dumbledore sighed.

"I think our Amy is the exact reason that Tom wasn't exactly pleased; we took her right under the noses of his Death Eaters. However, Harry Potter has more than enough to deal with at this time. If his visions get worse or if he simply cannot ignore him, I will refer him to Severus for Occlumency lessons."

"Do you think Severus would agree to such an arrangement?" McGonagall asked.

"Minerva, Severus has never refused me a favor for as long as he has been a spy for us. I do not think he plans on starting now."

"Very well," said McGonagall as she got up from her seat. "I have rounds to make. Goodnight, Albus."

"Night, Minerva," he said as he watched her go. His gaze stayed where she had left as he took in the entire day's events. After a few minutes he got up, walked over to his Pensive, and put his wand to his head. He relaxed as the wispy blue-white stream left his head. Once he was finished, he retired to his own room for the night.

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When Amy awoke on Saturday afternoon, she gave a great yawn and stretched across her bed. She opened her eyes, gasped, and surveyed the foreign room. All of her belongings were in it, but it was definitely not the same room she had woken up in the previous night.

_Where am I?_ she wondered. She glanced up at the desk and noticed the cauldrons of various sizes and materials still on it.

_So it wasn't a dream. _The events from the previous day came flooding back to her.

_But wait…how did I end up back in here? I don't remember ever coming back to this room. _She then noticed some things that weren't on her desk previously. Such as the history paper that she had handed in last week. Graded. She hurriedly flipped to the back page where the grade was. She gave a short cry of outrage as she stared at the grade, willing it to change.

"B+? He has the nerve to give me a B+? I spent days preparing for this stupid paper! Screw him!" Amy exclaimed as she threw the paper down in disgust. She then turned to the other papers on her desk. They were assignments for each of her five classes for the week.

"This looks like loads of fun," she said sarcastically as she put the papers down and went to turn her laptop on. However, it did not turn on. She pressed the power button about five times, then reached for the power cord. Amy moved frantically about the room as she realized there was no place to plug it in.

"How am I going to get any work done if I can't even turn this stupid thing on?" She stormed away from her computer and toward one of her bags. She took out her Ipod and pressed the power button. Nothing happened.

"Don't tell me you don't work either! Damn it! How do these wizarding people stay sane?" She threw the Ipod onto her bed and went into the bathroom.

_A shower. That's all I need, a shower so that I don't go kill someone. _

However, when Amy drew back the curtain of her shower, she didn't see any sort of knobs to make the water come out. Deciding that it wasn't worth her time, she threw the curtains shut, fuming.

_I need to get out of this stupid little room. Maybe someone out there will know why none of my stuff works. _She opened the door and slammed it shut behind her. Having no idea where she was going, she walked up a staircase and to the right. A girl with flamingo pink hair styled in a Mohawk spotted her and walked up to her.

"Wotcher," said the girl with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Excuse me?" asked Amy, confused. The girl slapped herself in the head.

"It's me! Tonks! Person who took you out of your world and brought you here? You can't have forgotten me after only one day!"

"Tonks?" Amy said, then remembered that Tonks had the ability to change her appearance at will.

"Sorry, I didn't recognize you. What are you doing here, I thought you said you weren't coming back until next week?"

"I'm covering for one of the other Aurors. He's wife's caught a nasty case of Dragon Pox, and there was no one else to watch the kids. I volunteered to do that, but for some reason he thinks I'd be a bad influence. Me! Imagine that!" She smiled, then tilted her head at Amy, concerned.

"Is everything alright? You were sort of…stalking about before." Amy grinned sheepishly.

"I've just had a bad morning. I had forgotten where I was when I woke up, none of my things work, my history professor had the _nerve_ to give me a B+ when I know I deserved an A…"

"Hang on, the grading system is a bit different here. B+ isn't failing, is it?"

"Well no, not at all, I mean, well it's sort of good, I suppose. I just…wanted to do better." Tonks smiled at Amy.

"I know someone you'd get along with." Just then, Amy's stomach let out a fierce growl.

"Where can I get some food around here?" she asked.

"Well, usually at the Great Hall, but seeing as how you've missed breakfast and lunch…"

"Wait!" Amy exclaimed. "What time is it, then?"

"Almost a quarter past one," Tonks answered. Amy looked horrified.

"I slept that long? Shit! How did that happen?" She looked at Tonks as if she knew the answer.

"Dunno, maybe Snape slipped you some Dreamless Sleep or something. I'm joking, I don't think he would have done that, unless he found you particularly irritating," Tonks said at Amy's look of alarm.

"You haven't had much of a tour of the castle, have you? Why don't I take you down to the kitchens? I used to sleep through breakfast every weekend," Tonks smiled.

"We're allowed to go in the kitchens?" Amy asked, surprised. Tonks looked down at the floor.

"Well, uh, not exactly. But you'll find that at this school, breaking the rules is a bit of a tradition." Both girls walked though the halls, Amy trying to look at everything they passed and Tonks occasionally waving at people. One thing that caught Amy's eye in particular was a portrait of two pirates having a sword fight. She stopped walking to watch them. One of the pirates turned toward her nastily.

"What arrr yeh lookin at?" he asked. Amy moved back slightly.

"Oh…sorry I…I didn't mean…I'll just…" she started. However, the other pirate in the portrait waved his sword and took off the arm of the one who yelled at Amy. She gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

"Now look what yeh've made me….gahh!" he exclaimed as the other pirate sliced off one of his legs as well.

"You deserved it, you nosy codger," Tonks said as she pulled Amy away.

"Don't worry, not all the portraits are so cheeky." Both girls remained silent until they reached a hallway filled with portraits of fruit. Tonks walked up to one of the portraits and tickled a pear. It giggled, squirmed, and then turned into a doorknob. Tonks turned it, and about twenty houselves crowded around the now open door.

"Can we get misses anything?" One of them asked. Amy backed away, but Tonks went closer toward them.

"Miss Tonks is back!" one of them exclaimed. Five others rushed at Amy and Tonks with a teakettle and a plate of biscuits.

"Nice to see you all again! It feels like I haven't been down here in ages. We've missed lunch, you see, so we were wondering if we might get a bit of food to hold us over until dinner."

"Certainly, miss, it is our pleasure!" exclaimed one with a particularly high voice. Amy just stood there, bewildered, as houselves shoved a tray into her hands filled with ham sandwiches, a couple of slices of bread, and two large cups of pumpkin juice.

"Th-thanks," she finally said, shakily.

"Thanks a lot, guys! We've got to be going now. We really appreciate it!" She headed for the door.

"It is our pleasure!" yelled one of the elves as a group of them bowed. "Come back any time!"

They walked for a bit until Tonks stopped, took out her wand, and conjured a table and two chairs. They settled the food on the table and sat down.

"So those were…house elves?" Amy asked.

"Yep! They're the ones who make the food and the beds and everything around here. They're great; they love to serve and do a brilliant job. No one really goes into the kitchens, so when someone actually does, they get really excited. Not all of them are so nice, though. My cousin's got one and he's, well, that's not important. Dig in!"

Both girls started eating as if they hadn't seen food for days. After a few minutes of eating in silence, Amy asked, "So…did you change your appearance a lot like…when you were in school?" Tonks laughed.

"Well, not in the beginning. I didn't know I was a metamorph until during my third year. Was a bit of a shock, actually. A Slytherin started teasing me after I tripped over a bench in the courtyard. My face turned bright red, but that wasn't the only thing. A bunch more Slytherins started teasing me, and others just stared. Imagine my surprise when I walked out by the lake and saw my hair reflected bright red. I went to Professor Sprout, who took me to Professor Dumbledore, and after doing a bit of research I found out what I was. However, after I learned, I used it to my advantage. By seventh year, I could morph my entire face. It kept me out of trouble a bunch of times. Except with Snape. He always knew it was me, the bastard."

"You had Snape as a professor?" Amy asked, slightly surprised.

"Unfortunately. What a pain in the arse that man was. Makes students lives hell, especially in Potions." Amy looked in horror over Tonks' shoulder and saw that Snape was silently inching up behind her. Amy tried clearing her throat loudly.

"Food stuck in your throat? Here, darling, drink your pumpkin juice. Now, as I was saying, Snape was such a miserable bat that during my sixth year I tried to slip him a love potion during dinner. Now, the way that love potion worked, you would fall desperately in love with the first person who you made eye contact with. Professor Dumbledore sat on his right, and McGonagall on his left, so the results would have been hysterical…but…"

"But you should have known better than to try to poison a Potions Master," said a silky voice from behind Tonks. She jumped and her sandwich went flying across the room.

"As I recall, Miss Tonks, you were given detention for a week, squeezing out bubotuber pus and collecting spider legs," Snape reminisced with a smirk.

"Listen, I would have pulled it off if Jamie had actually done her job and distracted you," Tonks said, crossing her arms.

"I'm sure," said Snape, who turned over to Amy. "I see the princess has awoken."

"How did I get back into my room last night?" Amy asked. Tonks picked up her head and glanced between Amy and Snape with a look somewhere between suspicion and amusement.

"Well, when I woke up this morning, on my couch," he growled, "I noticed that you were out cold with no intention of waking. First I checked for a pulse, then levitated you from my bed into your own. Couldn't have you nosing about in my rooms while I wasn't there. Dumbledore seemed a bit concerned that you weren't at breakfast _or_ lunch, but I convinced him that you could do with a bit of rest. I hope you don't have the intention of sleeping through every morning here."

"…what on Earth were you doing in Snape's bed?" Tonks asked, as she began to laugh.

"It's not what it sounds like!" Amy exclaimed, and Snape just rolled his eyes. Then Amy turned back to Snape.

"No...I don't know how that happened….but….but maybe if any of my things actually worked I'd have been able to set an alarm!" She said, suddenly annoyed.

"Muggle electricity does not, for the most part, work inside of Hogwarts. However, if you talk to the Headmaster, I'm sure he will accommodate you. Now then, when you are quite finished with your little picnic, you are going to come with me to see Madam Pomphrey." Amy's eyes opened wide in panic.

"What? So soon? But I haven't had a chance to…prepare!" Amy exclaimed lamely. Tonks looked beyond confused.

"Why do you have to see Madame Pomphrey? And what were you doing in Snape's bed?" However, she was ignored once again.

"Prepare? For what? Get a hold of yourself, girl. I simply asked her to give you a checkup. It will take no longer than five minutes, and it will be completely pain free. We must go today, because the Hospital Wing is quite busy on weekdays during classes. A lot of incompetent students get into….accidents." He smirked at Tonks when he said this. She glared at him and crossed her arms.

"Is anyone going to tell me what I apparently missed yesterday?" For a third time, her question was ignored.

"Don't you have a…job to do or something?" Snape asked coldly.

"I'm going, I'm going," Tonks growled as she cleaned up the chairs and table.

"This doesn't end here! You've got some explaining to do!" she called out to Amy as Snape started dragging her away.

"Bye Tonks!" she yelled. "Thanks for…er…lunch!" Tonks winked at her.

"Any time! See you later! Don't let the old bat drive you crazy!" Snape glared at the back of Tonks' head as she skipped down the opposite corridor. Amy had to walk briskly to keep up with Snape and was soon out of breath.

"Albus has told me he has sent some things from your school to your room. Have you received them?" Snape asked as they ascended up a flight of stairs.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did. Can you _believe_ that my professor had the nerve to give me a B+? I worked on that paper for ages! I could kill the…ah!" Amy let out a small shriek as she tripped up the last step. Snape shook his head at her.

"Merlin's bullocks, you're a Granger-Tonks," he complained.

"I'm a what?" Amy asked, getting up and rubbing the knee that she fell on.

"Nothing," he said as he kept walking. He entered a room that looked like a miniature hospital and stopped. He suddenly looked worried.

"Wait a second…I wonder if she knows you're a…" He didn't get to finish, because at that moment Madame Pomphrey bustled in.

"Now now, sit down, sit down dear," she said hurriedly as she shoved a bottle filled with clear liquid into Amy's hand.

"What is it?" she asked, turning it around in her hand.

"It's a tracer. It will allow me to examine you fully and quickly. It reacts with my wand. If my wand turns blue, everything is normal. If it turns red, there is some sort of issue. Don't worry, it won't be anything I can't fix. Now drink it."

Amy opened the bottle and sniffed it tentatively. Relatively sure that it wouldn't kill her, she drank from it. Madame Pomphrey kneeled down next to her and studied her face.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"….tingly?" Amy said after searching for a word to describe the prickly sensation all over her body.

"Good. Severus, stand back please," she ordered as she took out her wand. "_Ostendo infirmitas_!" she said as she waved her wand over Amy. It turned blue and started humming.

"Lift up your arm dear, good, now turn this way, yes, now move a bit, right…" She continued to bark commands at Amy, while waving her wand. Amy kept her eye on the wand, afraid that it would turn red, especially when the wand reached her abdomen. However, after what could have been no more than a few minutes, Madame Pomphrey stopped.

"Well, you're perfectly healthy. You're free to go," she told Amy briskly. Snape, however, did not move.

"Are…are you quite certain?" he asked. "Nothing seems…amiss?" Madame Pomphrey crossed her arms and walked over to Snape. Although she was a great deal shorter than him, she seemed to draw herself up to his height.

"Are you questioning my medical authority? I've been a mediwitch since before you were born, Severus, I am quite sure I know what I'm doing." Snape hesitated for a moment.

"Well of course…I never thought…thank you, Poppy," he finished abruptly without looking at her. She didn't have a chance to answer, however, as McGonagall came rushing into the room with what looked like a gigantic plant with legs. Madame Pomphrey gaped for only a second before she came rushing over. McGonagall, however, came rushing toward Severus. Amy remained on her bed, watching the scene with interest.

"Is that Mr. Longbottom?!" Madame Pomphrey exclaimed.

"Indeed it is. Severus, the students in your house have gone too far. Dueling in the corridors! Longbottom wasn't even involved! A stray curse of Mr. Goyle's hit Mr. Longbottom as he was walking down the hall. I think he meant the curse to do something else, but this is the result. I expect you will make it your priority to speak with him, Severus." However, Snape was only half listening and seemed very distracted.

"Of course, Minerva. However, my priority lies somewhere else at the moment." He indicated to Amy. McGonagall appeared to have seen her for the first time.

"Oh, yes, of course," she said shortly, and turned her attention away from them. Snape beckoned for Amy to get up. She hesitated and turned toward Madame Pomphrey, wanting to thank her, but she was completely immersed in Neville's condition. They slipped out silently and unnoticed and walked the entire way to the dungeons silently. Snape stopped in front of Amy's room and appeared to be waiting for her to go inside.

"Is everything alright, Sev?" Amy asked.

"Why wouldn't it be?" he asked without looking at her.

"Well for one thing, you didn't yell at me for calling you Sev. And you seem distracted." However, his response seemed to be more to himself than to Amy.

"It's just…she should have caught…surely she would have noticed…need to see Dumbledore." Amy just looked at him. After a few seconds, he appeared to snap out of it and turned to Amy.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I scheduled a detention for one of the annoying Creevy brats Monday evening. You will therefore have your first potions lesson tomorrow evening instead. Bring the cauldrons, I will provide everything else. I need to see Professor Dumbledore right now. I'll have one of the houseleves show you how to work the alarm and anything else you might have trouble with. I'll see at dinner." And with that he walked away without giving Amy a chance to speak. She stood there for a few moments, frowning, then spoke the password to her rooms and went in to read some of the 300 pages of work she had for the week.

Latin: _ostendo_ reveal, i_nfirmitas _infirmity.

_A/N: Thanks for reading. This story has a lot more hits than I ever expected. But not so many reviews. Really, I'd like to know what you think. You can review just once. I'm back from vacation so the updates will be quicker. Thanks to all my previous and current readers and reviewers. _


	11. Chapter 11: Rising Tempers

**Chapter 11: Rising Tempers**

"Eww, I'm not touching those!" Amy squealed as Snape confronted her with a bottle filled with slimy, wiggling tube worms. It was Sunday evening, right in the middle of Amy's first potions lesson.

"Don't be ridiculous," spat Snape, advancing closer still. "The first years can accomplish this without complaint. We're brewing a simple Pepperup potion; I could do this by the time I was nine. And I was told you were intelligent?"

Amy put down the vial of lotus nectar she had been examining and put her hands on her hips.

"Of course I'm intelligent! This is my first potions lesson, how am I supposed to know what's going on?"

Snape slammed the bottle of tube worms on the table next to Amy, making her back up a few inches.

"Maybe if you were more willing to learn, you wouldn't be having so many problems. Need I remind you that in the past two hours you have succeeded in exploding three cauldrons, two of the three almost seriously injuring myself, and have ruined a pound of perfectly usable mandrake root?"

Amy met Snape's glare and matched it as his eyes bore dangerously into her own.

"I didn't know they were going to explode! Maybe if you told me nicely instead of shouting directions at me, I'd be learning faster! And I don't care what you say, I'm _not_ touching those!"

Snape opened the bottle that Amy had indicated to and pushed it toward her. She gave a small shriek.

"Miss Beckett, if you are going to be a Potions Mistress, you are going to have to learn to get your hands dirty."

"But I don't _want_ to be a Potions Mistress!" Amy all but shouted. "You people decided to force that upon me, remember? I don't recall having any say in the matter!" Snape looked livid and towered over Amy.

"How _dare _you?" he asked in a tone that was dangerously low. "This is for your protection!"

"Protection from what?" Amy shot back. "Some wizard who wants me for something that you haven't even told me about? Maybe I'd have been better off with him!" Snape looked taken aback, and backed up a few paces.

"How dare…you ungrateful little…there are more lives than just yours at stake!" Snape shouted. "This is war, incase it hasn't sunken into that bright little head of yours! There have been sacrifices made for you! Do you think, for instance, that I _enjoy_ having an insufferable teenager in my dungeons? Do you think I have fun teaching someone who doesn't want to learn or have the capacity to understand…"

"Well if I'm such a bother then I'll leave!" Amy shouted, furiously stomping toward the door.

"Don't…you…dare," Snape breathed. Amy ignored him, and Snape quickly retrieved his wand from under his sleeve. However, as he was about to stun her, the bottle of tube worms exploded. He quickly casted a shield charm on himself to protect him from the shards of flying glass, then vanished the tube worms. Then he froze in place, wondering what just happened. However, he shook himself out of it and walked out the door, deciding to take a right turn.

"What did I do to deserve being stuck protecting ungrateful teenagers for all of my days?" he growled at no one in particular.

"Do you need to be reminded?" said a gruff voice, coming from a portrait of an older man, practicing stabbing motions with his sword. Snape glared at the portrait and walked briskly on.

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Amy was stalking through the unfamiliar halls of Hogwarts, muttering under her breath.

"Who does he think he is, ordering me around like that? I'll show him…" Amy rounded a corner and crashed into something hard.

"Hey, watch where you're…oh, look what we have here!" Said a tall, blonde boy with a pale, pointed face to two shorter, fatter boys on either side of him. They looked at Amy with greedy, hungry looks. She stepped back.

"You're going to be the new Potions Mistress," Malfoy said as more of a statement than a question. "White, is it?" he asked, stepping closer to her as she stepped back.

"Y-yes, what's it to you?" she asked, regaining her composure. Malfoy backed up a few paces and put his hands up as a sign of surrender.

"No harm meant, Ms. White," Malfoy said, smirking. "I only thought that you might like a tour of the castle, seeing as how you're…new." He looked at Crabbe and Goyle, who chuckled.

"I, that's really okay, I've uh, just come back from a tour," Amy fabricated lamely. This only encouraged Malfoy, who stepped closer to her once more.

"Look at her boys, isn't she pretty?" he asked his cronies, and they grinned and nodded like devilish idiots.

"Yeah, so why would she want to be seen with you and your bumbling gang of morons?" came a thick voice from behind them. At this, the three Slytherins whipped out their wands, and the three students that Amy didn't recognize followed suit.

"Well, if it isn't Potter, the Weasel and the Mudblood. You should know better than to wonder the corridors at this time of night," Malfoy said to the trio menacingly.

"As should you, Mr. Malfoy!" said the stern voice of Minerva McGonagall. All seven teenagers jumped, including Amy.

"What on Earth is going on here? Potter? Malfoy? Miss White?" She said the last name less severely and more confusedly than the previous two.

"We were just….making sure the halls were clear…of filth," Malfoy said as he glared at the trio.

"Well, as valiant as your environmental concerns may be, you do not have the authority to walk about the corridors after curfew! Move along! And five points from Slytherin!" she said, and the three Slytherins stalked off without another word.

"And Miss White! Surely Severus has told you that it is unwise to go wondering about the castle," she said pointedly, and Amy felt like a student who just got into trouble.

"I…um…I," she started.

"She was helping us with our Potions homework, Professor!" Hermione lied for her. Clearly McGonagall did not believe them. How could Amy know much at all about Potions, let alone enough to help students with their homework? However, McGonagall merely raised her eyebrows and dismissed them.

"Thanks," Amy whispered as she followed Harry, Ron and Hermione, not knowing where they were going.

"Don't mention it," said Harry, looking around to make sure no more teachers were coming. "We should have brought the cloak." Ron looked at him in alarm and nudged him with his elbow.

"_Harry_, shhh! She's Snape's apprentice! What if she…?"

"You think I'm gonna tell him if you do something wrong?" Amy asked, amused. "Do whatever you want, I don't care, honestly. I'm a student too, remember?" She gave the trio a mischievous smile. Ron seemed to relax a bit.

"So what are you doing around here, anyway?" Ron asked her, badly trying to cover up his suspicion.

"Honestly, Ronald, where are your manners?" Hermione scolded before Amy got a chance to answer. "I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Harry Potter and Ron Weasley." She extended her hand to Amy. Amy shook it, but looked at Ron.

"Nice to meet you all, I'm Chloe White. You look familiar." She directed the second statement to Ron.

"I heard you had a run-in with my twin brothers, Fred and George. I think one of them fancies you, but I can't remember which," Ron said, his ears turning red. Amy laughed.

"Oh, right, those two. They seem alright," she said.

"Yeah, well, if they ever offer you anything to eat, don't take it," Ron warned her.

"Duly noted," Amy said, with her eyebrow raised.

"So you work with Professor Snape?" Hermione asked.

"Is he awful to you?" Ron interjected. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. "What?" he asked her darkly as he went up to Harry, who was silently examining the Marauders' Map.

Walking next to Hermione and behind Ron and Harry, Amy put her hands in her pockets and pulled out something that she had forgotten was there. It was her non-working Ipod. Hermione saw it and tilted her head.

"Are you muggle born?" she asked. Amy, not knowing exactly what that meant, but recognizing that one word she was supposed to stay far away from, turned red and stammered.

"I…um…no, of course not. Not at all. Nope. Never." She laughed nervously.

"Oi, calm down! We're not Malfoy, we're not going to judge you," Ron said, turning around to look at her.

"It's okay, I'm muggle born too," Hermione said reassuringly, putting her hand on Amy's shoulder. Amy relaxed slightly. Surely these three weren't a threat to her.

"Oh I…okay. So…could you tell me why none of my stuff works around here?" Amy handed her Ipod to Hermione, who turned it around in her hand curiously.

"You mean that muggle electronics work at Ignatius the Intuitious' Institute for Magically Inclined Students? I'm assuming that's where you went to school, since you appear to be from America and that's the biggest school there." Amy paused for a second to think of an answer.

"Yeah, for some reason everything worked there. There are a lot more uh…muggle born students in America so they keep the electricity to…help ease them into the magical world." Hermione straightened up at this.

"Oh, that's right! Professor Binns explained to us that most of the witches and wizards moved out of America during and after the Salem witch trials! What a terrifying time that must have been!"

_Damn, I'm good,_ Amy thought, satisfied with herself.

"Spare us the lecture, Hermione," said Ron, who wasn't really paying attention in the first place.

"Professor Burbage!" she exclaimed after a few moments, perhaps louder than she intended.

"What?" Amy, Ron and Harry said together. Ron and Harry, startled, dropped the map and bent down on all fours to look for it in the dark. They didn't dare light their wands after the commotion they had just made.

"Professor Burbage, the Muggle Studies professor! I heard she's always showing her students things like radios and phones and stuff. I'm sure she could help you!" Hermione exclaimed, as if she just made a great discovery. "If you come with me after dinner tomorrow, I could bring you to the staff room to meet her!"

"Hermione, keep your voice down!" Ron hissed. "If anyone hears us…"

"…they'll wonder what you are doing out of bed with _my_ assistant," said a silky voice from behind them. They all jumped again and spun around in horror.

"We just—"

"I—"

"Silence," Snape whispered dangerously. He turned toward the trio. "I suggest you three get to bed immediately. Five points from Gryffindor. Go." Hermione gave Amy a pitying look and followed the boys to Gryffindor Tower. Amy walked beside Snape with her head down, not looking at him.

"So how did you find me?" Amy asked with almost no emotion in her voice.

"You'll find it is very difficult to hide in Hogwarts unless you know where to look. Portraits talk."

They continued walking back to the dungeons until Snape broke the silence.

"You don't want to be hanging around with that lot. Troublemakers, all of them." Amy felt her temper rise again and struggled to control it.

"Well they seemed a lot less…trouble…than that nasty blonde boy with his two brainless tubs of lard." Snape stopped walking and turned toward Amy.

"What blonde boy?" he asked, his dark eyes wide.

"The nasty one with the pointy nose…Malloy…"

"Malfoy!?" Snape asked with horror. "What the bloody hell were you doing talking to him?"

"Well I didn't do it on purpose! I sort of…bumped into him…literally. He's a real dirt bag. Trust me when I say I don't ever plan on speaking to him again." However, Snape seemed less than reassured.

"You didn't tell him anything…about yourself? What happened?"

"No, of course not," Amy said, starting to get tired. "He asked me if…well, told me, that I was going to be the new Potions Mistress and then sorta hit on me. Then the other three came and everyone took out their wands, and then Professor McGonagall came by and told everyone to go to bed." Snape's look of worry became one of confusion.

"McGonagall was there?" Snape asked.

"Yes, haven't I just said that?" Amy asked, yawning. Snape looked considerably more relaxed than he had in the previous moments. He started to continue walking, but Amy had stopped. Snape turned around to see what the problem was.

"Wait…where have I heard that name before?" Amy asked, blankly looking at the wall ahead of her. Snape refused to meet her eyes.

"I don't know. Perhaps you…heard it in the hallway." He stopped in front of her room.

"You should get some rest now. I suggest that you arise early tomorrow, as classes will be in session and the corridors will be rather crowded." He had the same, distant look he had the night before. However, Amy, who was rubbing her eyes in exhaustion, failed to notice.

"Alright then. Goodnight. Oh, and I'm so--"

"Don't mention it," said Snape, wringing his hands. "I have become too accustomed to teaching students who would otherwise be quite gifted if they actually put effort into their work. I shall have to remember that you have no experience in the magical world. Hopefully our next lesson will go by more…smoothly."

"Uhm," Amy said, with her eyes half closed, as she said the password and stumbled into her rooms. Instead of going into his room, Snape walked up the stairs leading out of the dungeons.

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Albus Dumbledore had been playing himself in a game of wizard's chess when an urgent knock brought him back to reality.

"Come in," he answered cheerfully. Severus Snape walked in and sat down opposite Dumbledore, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What seems to be the problem, my dear boy? Surely it isn't too urgent, as you were able to wait until tonight to speak with me." He turned his attention fully to Snape, his chess game forgotten.

"I just…I really don't think this thing with Miss Beckett is a very good idea," Snape said slowly. Dumbledore looked down his half-moon spectacles at him.

"Now Severus, I am well aware of the complains that you have about this entire situation. However--"

"It's not just that, Albus," Snape interrupted. "For one, she has in one night managed to come into contact with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Draco Malfoy. The first three are troublesome enough, but what if Draco sends news to his father about a mysterious new American girl at the school? It's only a matter of time before the Death Eaters find out that she's here." Dumbledore nonchalantly began to unwrap a chocolate frog.

"Nonsense, Severus. You haven't been summoned in nearly one month. Surely you would be aware if something were about to happen?"

"That's what's got me worried!" Snape whispered harshly. "I don't know what he's planning…what he's thinking…"

"And maybe that is what's best for the time being. Now, if there's nothing else, Severus, you look like you could do with a bit of rest."

"But there is more, Headmaster. The girl…she seems…well…I don't know. There's something…odd about her." Dumbledore chuckled slightly.

"Well obviously, Severus. She's a muggle at a magical school. That would seem odd to anyone." Snape rolled his eyes.

"No, I mean, when I took her to get examined by Poppy, she didn't, well, wouldn't she have noticed Miss Beckett is a muggle?" Albus stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Poppy was looking for medical abnormalities, was she not?"

"Yes…but…"

"And she didn't find anything unusual, did she?"

"No…but…"

"Then there really is no reason to worry, is there?" Dumbledore asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"I suppose," Snape said, not sounding convinced at all. "But there's one more thing. This evening, we had …a bit of an argument. As she…well as she decided to…to take a break…a bottle of tube worms exploded. Just like that." Snape crossed his arms over his chest, silently daring the Headmaster to tell him that this, too, was nothing to worry about.

"Well, if I know you quite as well as I think I do, I know that you have quite the temper. As you well know, my boy, magic can unexpectedly surface under instances of extreme fear or anger…"

"…in witches and wizards who have not fully developed their powers!" Snape finished. "Are you implying that I do not have control over my own magic?"

"Of course not, Severus. I merely think that you are making mountains out of molehills. A bit of rest shall do you good." Snape looked at Dumbledore's face. Despite his friendly countenance, the Headmaster looked years older than he did a week ago. What _was_ he doing last night that he couldn't see Severus when he went to speak with him? However, he let the thought slip out of his mind as Dumbledore continued to speak.

"Now, I think it would be wise to alert Harry, Hermione and Ron to Amy's true condition," Dumbledore said seriously.

"What?" Snape asked, caught off guard. "That is a terrible idea! Why don't we just stick a postage stamp on Miss Beckett's forehead and have her delivered by owl to the Dark Lord himself?"

"Now now, Severus. Those three are perfectly capable of keeping secrets. How long do you think it will take Miss Granger to realize that Amy is a muggle, being muggle born herself? It is best if they hear it from me. I am fully confident that, on my request, they shall not say a word to anyone else.

"Whatever you wish, Headmaster," Snape growled, giving up and getting up to leave.

"One second, Severus," Dumbledore stopped him. Snape signed loudly but did not sit back down.

"Yes?"

"How is young Amy getting along? This must not be easy for her."

"She's doing as well as can be expected, I suppose. She is, however, rather short-tempered." Snape crosses his arms again and glared at the wall as Dumbledore chuckled.

"I wonder where she gets that from," he joked. "Perhaps a trip back to her world would do her good. With chaperones, of course," he added, seeing the look on Snape's face. "I think that, during the forthcoming summer holiday, it would be a good idea to send her and perhaps two capable females to stay with her at her house. However, we can make plans for that later. I shall let you sleep now, Severus." Snape gave a small, tired bow and turned toward the door.

"Goodnight, Headmaster."

"Goodnight, Severus. Be sure to rest your mind as well as your body."

_What in the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?_ Snape thought as he left Dumbledore's office, deciding that he was too tired to care.

_A/N: I am SO sorry I haven't updated in a while. I downloaded the free 10 day trial of World of Warcraft, so I've been playing that in my free time. However, you'll be happy to know that I won't be buying it seeing as no one will hire me and I am lacking in funds. If you're a first-time reader, please review. Thanks to those who have been reading and reviewing, it means a lot._


	12. Chapter 12: Into the Night

**Chapter 12: Into the Night**

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley were sitting in the library on Monday afternoon after lunch. Seeing as how it was a beautiful day outside, they were the only ones in there, save Madame Pince, who periodically eyed the trio suspiciously.

"Hermione, why do we have to be in here right now? The sun's out, for Merlin's sake! Why can't go enjoy ourselves?" Ron complained.

"Now Ronald," Hermione lectured. "You know perfectly well that exams are only one month away. You want to pass, don't you?"

"Course I do, but I don't think I'll fail miserably if I get hit by sunlight for a few minutes. Fresh air might make me want to…think more. Yeah. Why can't we at least study outside or something?" He grinned and looked at Hermione to see if his impenetrable logic would work on her.

"Ron, we've already tried that. It will only be a matter of time before Dean or Seamus come over and rope you into a game of Quidditch or Exploding Snap or something. Now shut it and look over your charms."

Ron gloomily turned back to his book. Hermione's eyes traveled to Harry, who had remained suspiciously silent throughout the entire ordeal. In fact, he didn't seem to be talking much at all lately, and always looked like he didn't get any sleep the night before.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked. He looked around, as if not knowing who or what was speaking, and finally turned to Hermione.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Great. Peachy." Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"You know, if you're not sleeping because of your nightmares, you should go to Dumbledore."

"I've already been to Dumbledore loads of times," Harry said, exasperated. "Do you really think that, if he couldn't do anything about it before, he can now?" He put his head down in his arms, not even waiting for her to answer. Hermione, however, didn't get the hint.

"Well maybe he's figured out something he didn't realize before! Or maybe he didn't take you very seriously last time. Or perhaps he's been busy with that new girl. Chloe. Was it me or did she seem a bit odd to you?" Ron, who was grateful for the diversion away from his studies, jumped into the conversation.

"Strange as in, she works with Snape and isn't completely miserable yet?" Hermione threw a sharp look at him.

"No, Ron. I mean, what was she doing out in the corridors last night? How did she get cornered by Malfoy? Why didn't she have her wand out?

"You could have asked us the same questions, 'Mione," Ron said thoughtfully. "We weren't exactly supposed to be out of bed, were we? We get cornered by Malfoy on a daily basis. As for her wand, I dunno, maybe Dumbledore asked her not to take it out on students."

"Maybe," Hermione said, looking up at the ceiling, "but don't you think it was odd that she barley reacted when we introduced her to Harry? I don't know one person who wasn't shocked the first time they met him. Especially being from the States, you'd think that she'd have been thrilled to meet him. Honestly, don't you two pay attention?"

"Well excuse me if we were paying more attention to not getting caught," said Ron, defending himself and Harry. Hermione, however, ignored him and looked at Harry.

"But Harry…aren't you interested in…"

"No, I'm not!" Harry thundered, suddenly picking his head up. Madame Pince glared at him, while Ron and Hermione jumped at the sudden outburst. Harry ignored all three of them, but lowered his voice a fraction.

"I don't care about some random girl who turned up at the school who isn't jumping out of her skin at the sight of me. She's not trying to kill me as of yet, so I see no reason to bother with her. I don't care that exams are a month away, for all I know I could be dead by then. I really just don't care anymore."

Harry stood up to leave, but no one had noticed, because of the commotion, the library doors open as a tall, grey-haired figure stepped in.

"I'd rather you stay, Harry," said Dumbledore seriously. Harry sat back down obediently.

"I didn't find you all outside enjoying the weather, so I thought you might be in here. Although, I see no reason why you couldn't perhaps have found solace in a shady tree instead of the dark library." Ron gave Hermione a triumphant look. She was about to make an excuse, but Dumbledore held up his hand and smiled at her.

"I was wondering if you three would join me in my office for a small amount of time? There is a simple matter I wish to discuss with you. And no, Mr. Weasley, you are not in trouble," he said at Ron's look of panic. The trio got up behind Dumbledore and followed him to his office. Madame Pince watched the procession go with a look mixed between annoyance and confusion.

* * *

"So they're not really frogs then, right?" Amy asked as Ron offered her a chocolate frog. Amy, Ron, and Harry were in the Gryffindor common room Monday evening after dinner, sitting on and around the couch by the fireplace. Harry was still in Dumbledore's office.

"Nah, but you might want to eat it before it gets away," Ron advised.

"So is it difficult, being so far away from the muggle world? I know I was shocked when I found out about magic. Shocked, but pleased," Hermione explained soothingly.

"Well…it's okay. I'm worried about my dad, but I guess he's got my brother to keep him company. I'm still getting used to everything," Amy said as she hugged her knees and continued. "It's nice to know I don't have to hide myself around you guys anymore. And thanks to you, Hermione, Professor Burbage said she'll have my computer and everything working by tomorrow. Now I'll be able to do my schoolwork while learning potions. Wonderful," she added sarcastically.

"So your whole family is muggle, then?" inquired Ron.

"As far as I know," Amy mused.

"You should come to my house sometime over the holiday," Ron said. "My day loves muggles." Hermione and Amy exchanged glances and started giggling.

"Well not like that," Ron said, his ears turning red. However, he joined in the laugher too. Amy opened up one of the books that Hermione had brought down with her and started going through it. It looked a bit battered, and Amy got the distinct impression that it was not supposed to be in the common room with them. The page she landed on had a giant picture of the Dark Mark.

"Whoa, what's that?" Amy asked, pointing to it. Hermione and Ron both jumped when they saw what it was, but Hermione took the book into her lap and went into lecture mode.

"That's the Dark Mark. The Mark of Voldemort, the one who's after…well…all of us now, I guess," Hermione started. Ron whimpered when Hermione said Voldemort's name, but she ignored him and continued.

"His followers, Death Eaters they call themselves, bear this mark on their left forearm. It both shows their loyalty to him and acts as a means of summoning them."

"Yeah, you don't wanna go near anyone with one of those on their arm," Ron chimed in. "It's only a matter of time before we start seeing one on Malfoy's arm." Amy's head perked up at the name.

"Is that the nasty kid from yesterday?" she asked.

"Yeah. Just like his father if you ask me. Crabbe and Goyle aren't much better, but Malfoy is the brains behind the operation. Death Eaters in training, the lot of them," Ron spat. Amy started putting two and two together.

"Malfoy….father…Death Eaters…wait! Malfoy's father…he's one of the ones who almost caught me when Severus and Tonks came to get me! It was a close call, too, we only just got away!

"Oh, how awful!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yeah but…here's the thing. I knew the name sounded familiar, and I asked Severus about it, but he wouldn't tell me anything. Isn't that a bit…odd?"

"Not for Snape," Ron said. "Look, I know you work with him and all, but I wouldn't put too much trust in him if I were you. He is a bit…shady," Ron warned her.

"Ron, don't be ridiculous. He isn't the nicest person in the world, but Dumbledore trusts him!" Hermione scolded.

"Yeah, and he also trusted Loopy Lockheart and Quirrel, and look what good that did him!" Ron shot back. "All I'm saying is watch your back, that's all." Amy didn't get a chance to respond because right then the portrait hole swung open. Fred and George came clambering in, apparently in the middle of an argument.

"I'm obviously the better looking one, I should ask her out!"

"You? You don't stand a chance! You with your stupid hair and your stupid nose…"

"You have my stupid hair and stupid nose too!"

"Well, it looks better on m—ah!"

Both twins jumped at the sight of Amy, Ron and Hermione watching them.

"And just what are you two up to this time?" Ron asked, amused.

"Nothing," Fred and George answered together as they pushed themselves on the couch on either side of Amy, pushing Ron and Hermione off either end onto the floor.

"Hello beautiful," said Fred in a suspiciously sweet voice.

"Canary cream?" George offered.

"Toffee?" Offered Fred.

"Fudge, perhaps?"

"She doesn't want fudge, she wants a nice nougat!"

"No thanks," Amy said, waving away the proffered treats and giggling. "I was told not to accept anything to eat from you two." Fred and George both mock glared at Ron and Hermione.

"You two take the fun out of everything!" they both complained loudly. Just then, the portrait hole swung open once again, and this time Harry Potter stepped into the common room.

"Harry! Where've you been?" asked Fred.

"Now the party can start!" said George.

"Umm…I'm going to bed. Night everyone," Harry said, a bit disoriented.

"Oh, well, alright, goodnight Harry," Hermione said suspiciously. Everyone else watched silently as Harry went up to the boys' dormitory.

"What's up with him?" Fred whispered.

"He…he just hasn't been getting much sleep lately. A bit of rest will do him good," Hermione said more confidently than she felt.

"It doesn't have anything to do with me, does it?" Amy asked shyly. "I mean, is it because he doesn't like me or something?"

"Of course not!" Hermione exclaimed. "He's just got a lot on his mind."

"Yeah, well maybe he's got the right idea. I should be getting to bed as well. Need to catch up on my schoolwork and stuff tomorrow, and I'm not used to waking up at ungodly hours for breakfast. See you guys same time tomorrow?"

"Yep, goodnight!" said Hermione, as she sprung up out of her seat, which was currently the floor. She gave Amy a quick hug.

"And thanks for everything," Amy said as Hermione let go of her.

"Don't mention it! I'll see you later!" She moved out of the way to let Ron say goodbye. Ron wasn't sure what to do, so he stuck out his hand and Amy took it and giggled. He got close to Amy so that Hermione wouldn't hear what he was saying.

"I think Hermione's excited to have a friend who's a girl. Don't let her random lectures put you off, she's a great friend."

"I'll keep that in mind," Amy whispered, walking closer to the portrait hole and waving.

"Wait!" said Fred. Amy turned around.

"Do you need an escort?"

"Or two?" Fred and George asked as they grabbed both of Amy's arms.

"That's really okay, I'm a big girl after all," she said, smiling.

"Well, have it your way, then," Fred said, sounding disappointed as he and George let go of Amy and watched her leave. She turned around once more, gave everyone a small wave, and left.

"She likes me better, you know," said Fred.

"Are you kidding me? Any idiot can see that she likes me better," argued George.

"Well it's a good thing that I'm not an idiot, then," Fred shot back.

"You're both idiots, go to bed," said Ron sleepily, throwing a small cushion from the couch at them.

Severus Snape heard a knock on his office door at around 7:55 p.m. Tuesday evening that made him jump slightly. It's not that he wasn't expecting it. He was just exhausted by the bizarre turn of events that occurred after midnight last night.

"Enter," he said, with absolutely no emotion. The door swung open and Amy walked in, carrying more cauldrons than she could handle. He knew this because she had hardly taken two steps when she tripped over the rug by the door to Snape's office and dropped every single one.

"Sorry," Amy mumbled meekly. Snape just rolled his eyes.

"When you've assembled them all, set them there," he said as he pointed to a big, black desk and made no move to help her. She did as she was told and then awaited further instructions. When they did not come she looked up at Snape. He was staring at the wall with his eyes unfocused. It took him a few moments to realize that Amy was staring at him, waiting.

"Are you alright, Sev?" Amy asked. He sighed heavily.

"I didn't get much sleep last night. It was very…odd and trying." Amy looked at him with her eyes full of compassion.

"Sorry to hear that, what happened?" Snape looked at her, his eyes assessing, as if he were debating how much he should tell her. He started slowly.

"Last night, Potter had one of those dreams of his again. He dreamt that Arthur Weasley, father of Ron, Fred, Ginny, and George, was attacked. However, his dreams became reality, and Author Weasley really was attacked."

"That's awful!" Amy interjected. "But…but I saw Harry, Ron and his brothers just last night!"

"Yes, I suppose this must have happened after you went to bed. Anyway, now that we have become aware of a strong connection between the Dark Lord's mind and Potter's, the Headmaster thought it would be prudent to begin to teach Potter to shut his mind to outside influences right after the incident. Seeing as how Potter is an arrogant fool, we spent much time getting nowhere."

"I'm sorry," Amy said, looking down. "If you want to rest, I could go—"

"Nonsense. It is important that you learn this as quickly as possible." He then paused and looked directly into Amy's eyes. "It is not only Potter who in danger because of this connection."

"What do you mean?" Amy asked, having no idea what this could do with her.

"If you do not recall, Professor Dumbledore insisted on telling Potter about your true nature. If Potter can read into the Dark Lord's mind, it is only a matter of time before he can manipulate the connection the other way around. If he goes through Potter's mind, it is only a matter of time before he finds you. I told Albus _not_ to tell him. I knew this wouldn't lead to anything good. What was he thinking telling Potter and his friends? That man is not thinking clearly these days." He said the last part mainly to himself. Amy didn't want to say anything to make it worse, so she kept her mouth shut. Snape seemed to snap himself out of it, because he started giving her instructions for whatever potion they were brewing today.

"Now go to the desk and get the Doxy Venom in the blue vial. It is very important that you are extremely careful with it as it is very da-"

He didn't get to finish, however, because somehow Amy managed to trip over the leg of the giant brown table in the middle of Snape's office. The cork flew open and the entire vile of doxy venom landed on Snape. It immediately starting to burn holes in his cloak. He threw the cloak off and managed to vanish the venom. Amy just watched in panic.

"I am SO so-"

"Don'.." Snape breathed, beginning to roll up the sleeves of the long sleeved white button down shirt under his cloak. Amy turned back toward him to help prepare the cauldrons.

_Damn, he looks good _Amy thought as she ran his eyes over his chest and down to his—

Amy gasped as her eyes reached his arms. Right on his left forearm was the Dark Mark, clear as day, that she had seen in a book only yesterday. Snape looked at her when she gasped, then looked at what she was gaping at. He looked between his forearm and her with confusion. He started to move toward her.

"But how…how do you know about…" he didn't get to finish because she ran out of his office and into the hall. He slapped himself in the head.

"What is she, a fucking athlete? he asked the air as he pulled a spare cloak out of the closet and ran after her.

Amy ran, fully aware she had no idea where she was going and where this had led her last time. She found a staircase and ran up. She had run three flights when the staircase moved to the left and brought her even further from the dungeons. She went up three more and took off down a deserted corridor. She stopped for a second, trying to decide whether to go left or right. However, a voice behind her stopped her.

"Miss Beckett! Funny seeing you this time of night, dear!" said the cheery voice of Albus Dumbledore. Amy was beside herself with happiness. Surely Dumbledore would protect her.

"Professor Dumbledore! I….he…Severus!" She tried to say, completely out of breath.

"There you are," came the voice of the devil himself, Snape.

"Severus! I must say this is a very odd nighttime gathering indeed. What is all this about?" Dumbledore asked, looking from Amy to Snape. Amy ran behind Dumbledore, shielding herself from Snape.

"He's got the…he's got…" it was too much effort to make a sentence. However Snape, who was not out of breath in the least, helped.

"Albus, somehow she knows about…about the mark. She saw it on me and…freaked out. I fully blame Potter, Weasley and Granger for this.

"Oh dear, that is problematic indeed." Dumbledore said, not sounding very worried. He then took out his wand and said a silencing spell. He put his hand on Amy's shoulder and steered her back toward Snape.

"Amy, you must listen to me. I don't know how you found out about the Dark Mark, but Severus here is no more a Death Eater than I am. He is a spy for our side. He tells us what Voldemort is planning and gives him the illusion of useful information. I trust him fully, and so should you. He would never hurt you." Amy looked down at her feet.

"Oh," was all she could get out.

"Now, I officially call this pajama party to a close. Severus, Amy."

"Goodnight," Amy and Snape said. Amy turned to Snape to follow him and found that she couldn't look at him. She turned around to see where Dumbledore was going, but he was gone. Snape was walking very quickly, so Amy had to jog to keep up.

"I'm sorry," Amy tried to say, but Snape kept walking in silence.

She didn't try again until they were back in the dungeons.

"Look, I'm really sorry…about everything. Are we still on for tomorrow?" Snape finally turned around to face her.

"If you can last the entire lesson without running away from me," Snape said, and Amy couldn't tell if he was joking or being serious.

"I promise, even if you come at me with a fresh bottle of tube worms," she said. The corners of his mouth twitched up, but Amy didn't know if he was holding back a smile or if he was sneering at her.

"Until tomorrow then. Goodnight, Miss Beckett."

"Night," Amy said, practically throwing herself into her room in embarrassment. Snape watched her enter and close her door. He went to say the password for his rooms but cursed instead and grabbed his left arm. He whispered another string of curses before running out of the castle into the night.

_A/N: Alright, couple of things. Firstly, I updated so fast because I felt bad for not updating for forever. I can't promise or give you a schedule of when I can update because my life is constantly changing, but I'll try for at least once a week or something. And RadicalReason, Amy is 19 so yes, she is currently in college. _

_Secondly, scratch my timeline thing. The story takes place during Harry's fifth year but it will not be strictly cannon, I am officially making it AU. I am well aware that the Arthur incident takes places before Christmas and not before the summer, but I needed it now to make it fit in with the story. Also, Umbridge will not make an appearance. I will, however, take bits and pieces from canon where I see fit. _

_Third, I've started a new fanfic. The prologue is up, its called "Autumn Falls" and you can see it on my author page. Check it out! Thanks_

_Fourth, thanks so much to all my readers and reviewers, I wouldn't be writing so often if it wasn't for you. _


	13. Chapter 13: Stay Conscious

**Chapter 13: Stay Conscious**

Amy Beckett was wandering aimlessly around the dark, deserted halls of Hogwarts a few minutes past midnight. Not able to think about anything but the guilt she felt for having run out on Severus twice in three days when he was really only trying to help her, she thought that venturing out of her jail cell of a room might help clear her head, or at least distract her. She had made her way up to the fourth floor and was studying the tapestries and paintings.

_I don't see why Severus thinks it's dangerous for me to walk around here and look at the walls, _she thought. Then, with a tiny pang of guilt, she realized that she was disobeying him once again.

_Oh well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him,_ she convinced herself. _What can possibly happen, anyway?_

Her answer came to her in the form of a water balloon bursting on top of her head, followed by a kind of manic cackling.

"What the…" Amy started as she looked above her head. She gasped when she saw a transparent little man with a wicked grin armed with what must have been thirty obnoxiously bright colored water balloons.

"And what have we got here, then?" Peeves the Poltergeist inquired, picking up a blue balloon from his pile and getting ready to throw it.

"Little old Peevsie, minding his own business, filling up his little _surprises_ for tomorrow when what should appear before him? A sneaky, sniveling, STUDENT OUT OF BED!" He shouted this last part and Amy panicked, looking around.

"Shut it, _Peevsie_, I'm not a student!" Amy whispered harshly. Peeves tilted his head at her, then floated upside-down toward her until his lucid face almost touched hers. Amy felt the cold emanating from him and shuddered.

"Not a student, you do look older than the rest. Then what? A teacher?" He started doing back flips in the air, and one of the water balloons he had been holding fell and narrowly missed Amy's left foot. Amy suddenly gained a false sense of confidence.

"Yes, I'm a teacher. And I demand that you leave this instant!" She pointed her finger at Peeves, who was now in near hysterics.

"So little miss teacher thinks that she can go ordering me around, does she? Well Peevsie don't take orders from nobody, not even from the likes of you. And what does missy teach?" He balanced the rest of his balloons on his left arm and rested his empty right hand on his chin, waiting for her to answer.

"Potions," she said bravely. Peeves floated all around her, looking her up and down as if to size her up.

"Potions," he repeated. "That's odd. I thought old Snapey taught that. Has he been sacked? That would explain why he's sleeping on the floor two floors below." He took a red balloon and threw it at a painting, cackling madly as its inhabitants tried to dry themselves off and shook their fists at him. Amy stared at him in shock as his words sunk in.

"He's what!?" she shrieked, this time not caring if anyone heard her.

"Yes, yes, does seem about odd, doesn't it? Maybe scaring ickle children all day made him—" but Amy had stopped listening and was bolting down the stairs. She practically flew down the two flights until she was at the second floor. She entered the corridor and spun around in every direction, not knowing which way she should run first. Then she saw, by the light of the flickering torches on the wall, what appeared to be a pile of black robes stained with crimson to the far left of where she was standing. She sprinted all the way down the hall and knelt down before it.

"Severus?" Amy whispered tentatively. When the pile didn't move, Amy grabbed the black robes and threw them carelessly to the side. She let out a shriek as Snape's blood-soaked, unconscious body was revealed. He was paler, if possible, than she had ever seen him before. With a bit of effort, she unbuttoned the very top of his frock coat. She put her hand to his throat and felt a small, struggling pulse. She looked over his body once and gently started to shake him.

"Severus, wake up," she whispered gently. When he didn't so much as stir, her voice gradually got louder and shriller.

"Severus…SEVERUS!" she shouted, her voice ricocheting off the walls.

Instinctively she put her hand over a large gash in his cheek. Within seconds she felt sudden warmth dripping out from under her hand, contrasting with the wave of cold that washed over the rest of her body. Thinking that it was the blood pouring out of the open wound, she lightly pressed her hand down for a few moments and removed it. She rubbed her eyes for a few seconds, thinking that the light from the fire must have been playing tricks on her. Surely the wound that had been gaping only moments before could not have just healed on its own? However, she did not have time to think about it as a shrill voice called out to her.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" When Amy turned around, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were standing across the hall with their wands light, Professor McGonagall's wand pointed at Amy.

"Miss Beckett?" McGonagall asked, half sternly, half surprised. "What on Earth…" she trailed off as Dumbledore kneeled down next to Snape and pointed his wand tip at him.

"Oh dear! Is that…is that Severus? What's happened?" She directed the last question at Amy.

"I…I'm not sure. I c-came down here and found him…he's breathing but h-he won't wake up," Amy stammered as tears suddenly started forming in her eyes.

"You accidentally just happened to come across him?" Dumbledore asked gently.

"No…I was walking around on the fourth floor and this…well I guess it was a ghost…it told me that Severus was sleeping on the floor down here." Dumbledore and McGonagall exchanged glances.

"Sir Nicolas, perhaps? Amy dear, did this ghost have a particularly regal air about him, and was he exceedingly well-spoken?" Amy would have chuckled had the situation not been so serious.

"Not at all. He was an awful little man who kept throwing water balloons at me. I think he referred to himself as 'Peevsie.' Dumbledore got to his feet.

"Peeves," he said, with almost a hint of annoyance. He turned to McGonagall.

"Minerva, would you please fetch Peeves and Madame Pomphrey and bring them back to Severus' rooms?" McGonagall raised an eyebrow at him.

"Wouldn't it be more prudent to take him to the hospital wing, Albus?" she asked with her eyes narrowed, as if that was the only logical solution. Dumbledore sighed.

"If I know Severus as well as I think I do, he will not want to draw unneeded attention to himself in the hospital wing. He is a man who values his privacy. Please hurry," he added, and McGonagall turned away without another word. Dumbledore turned back to Amy and smiled as if there was not an unconscious body in front of them.

"Let's make him comfortable, shall we? After you, dear." Amy hesitated for a moment as she watched Dumbledore wordlessly levitate Snape up into the air. Then she led the way to the dungeons. They were silent until Amy stopped in front of the door, looking expectantly back at Dumbledore, who was a good few feet behind her. She suddenly remembered that her password would let her into Snape's rooms as well. She said the password into the door (_muffins)_ and Dumbledore chuckled as he caught up, Snape floating along behind him.

The three of them entered the room and Dumbledore set Snape down on the bed, which was made. The whole room, in fact, was as tidy as the last time Amy had been in there.

_Maybe I shouldn't mention that,_ Amy thought wryly. Before they could do anything else, a breathless Minerva McGonagall entered, followed by a frazzled-looking Madame Pomphrey and a sour-faced Peeves. Madame Pomphrey immediately bustled over toward Snape and started taking potions out of her apron. If she thought that Amy's presence among the group was odd, she certainly didn't show it. She waved her wand over Snape's body and seemed to breathe in a sigh of relief. Then she took off his robe, frock coat, and shirt and went through the pockets of each. Dumbledore and McGonagall started making their way across the room to where Peeves was floating when Madame Pomphrey stepped away from Severus' bed with an air of determination.

"He appears to be fine. I'll just need to heal the external lacerations and clean him up a bit. Apparently he already took something before he passed out. I found these in his robes." She showed the group a pair of empty vials. Amy let out a slow, thankful breath. Maybe she wasn't going crazy after all. Dumbledore smiled and walked over to Madame Pomphrey. He looked between her and Severus and grasped one of her hands in both of his.

"Thank you, Poppy. I sincerely appreciate you coming out at this time of night, and am wholeheartedly assured that Severus could not be in better hands." She merely nodded and went to work. Dumbledore then rounded on Peeves, his demeanor changing significantly.

"Am I to understand that one of my faculty members was injured, and that you were aware of that fact and did not inform me right away?" The poltergeist just shrugged, not looking at Dumbledore.

"Well…I suppose it could be looked at that way," Peeves said, wringing his hands.

"And why did you not chose to inform me?" Dumbledore asked, his non-twinkling eyes piercing right through Peeves.

"Well I…I was going to, I was, but I had some other business to attend to first, I did."

Dumbledore looked down his half moon spectacles at him. Which quite a feat, seeing as Peeves was feet above him. "And you fathomed that this business of yours was more important than the health of one of my most trusted faculty members and friends?"

"I…I…" Amy wasn't sure if ghosts could blush, but Peeves' cheeks seem to grow more opaque than the rest of him. Dumbledore shook his head slowly.

"The Bloody Barron will have to hear about this, I'm afraid." Peeves' eyes went wide, and he looked like a cartoon character. Amy had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

"No…please…I…" but Dumbledore cut him off.

"This matter is no longer open to discussion. You are dismissed," he said more coldly than Amy had ever heard him speak. Peeves shot an extremely dirty look at Amy before floating out of the room wordlessly.

McGonagall turned to Amy as well with her hands on her hips.

"And just _what _were you doing out in the halls at this time of night?" McGonagall inquired. Before Amy could answer, Dumbledore stepped in.

"Now, now Minerva, she is not a student and therefore does not have a curfew. Surely she was just…curious?" Dumbledore's eye twinkled at her. McGonagall's lips formed into a tight line on her aged face.

"But surely it is dangerous for her to explore unknown corridors in the darkness…-"

"The girl's been here for a few days, I'm sure she knows her way around by now. Alas, if it were not for her, we would not have found Severus." McGonagall gave Amy and Dumbledore sharp looks but said nothing. The three of them then looked back expectantly at Madame Pomphrey. She had settled three different colored potions on Snape's night table. He was considerably less bloody and had returned to his normal shade of pasty white.

"He probably won't wake up for at least another few hours. However, he will need to be observed. As I'm not entirely sure what hit him and what exactly he took before he passed out, there could be some delayed side effects. I urge you to let me take him to the infirmary." The mediwitch put her hands on her hips.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that," Dumbledore said solemnly. "Severus would not want the students to see him in his weakened state."

"I'll stay with him," Amy volunteered in a small voice. "I probably won't be able to sleep anyway after seeing…well seeing him like that." Everyone else in the room who was conscious turned to look at her.

"What a splendid idea!" Dumbledore proclaimed, beaming at her. McGonagall, however, frowned.

"But Albus, if anything should happen…"

"Then I am sure that Amy will have enough sense to contact me directly. Poppy, you have done a wonderful job. Thank you so much for your assistance. I hope it will not be needed anymore tonight." Madame Pomphrey recognized a dismissal when she saw it. She nodded and walked toward the door. Before she left she grabbed Amy's arm.

"Make absolutely sure that he takes all of these as soon as he wakes up. I don't care if you have to tie him down, just make sure he gets them." Amy smiled at the thought and nodded. Dumbledore and McGonagall turned toward the fireplace.

"After you, of course," Dumbledore said valiantly to McGonagall, who grabbed a handful of flew powder. Loudly and clearly she said "Professor McGonagall's office!" and disappeared into the green flames. Amy stared in awe. Dumbledore smiled at her expression while he grabbed a handful of flew powder himself.

"If anything should arise in the night, merely grab a handful of flew powder, step into the flames, and say 'Professor Dumbledore's Office!' And don't worry, I promise you won't get burned!" He stepped into the fireplace. "Goodnight, dear," he said, right before following the instructions he just left for Amy. All she could do was wave dumbly as she watched him disappear. She stared for a few moments, then turned her attention to the unconscious man in the bed behind her. And realized she had no idea what to do.

_Should I…get a cold cloth for his head?_ She tentatively touched his forehead with the back of her wrist. It was like ice.

_No, he definitely doesn't need that._ She withdrew her hand quickly and got up to circle his bed, watching him breathe. Suddenly she realized how tired she really was as a wave of weariness hit her without warning. She looked at him and realized that he probably wasn't going to do something exciting any time soon.

_Well, if he needs me he can just wake me up_ she thought, pulling an armchair from the opposite side of the room up to the bed and curling up in it.

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Severus Snape was thrown into the waking world with an excruciating headache. Before he opened his eyes, he deduced that he was indeed lying in his bed; his sheets were a lot softer than the starchy ones in the hospital wing. The events from last night seemed to come back to him. _His arm burning with pain as he reached the door into his rooms. The Dark Lord's angry red eyes that showed no mercy as none of his Death Eaters could bring him any worthy news. Angry that Malfoy and Dolovoh had not found Amy yet. Amy…her name was brought up a lot. Angry that Severus would dare question him about her importance. Angry that Arthur Weasley was saved. And then the potion. The potion he had taken when he got back to the castle. And the spot on the floor where he needed to rest…only a moment…_

His eyes fluttered open. He got up slowly, only to realize that his body was in no pain. He looked to the night table on his right. On it were three differently colored potions. A piece of paper stuck out between them. He picked it up and examined it. The paper merely contained two words: _Drink us!_ in handwriting that Snape didn't recognize. Both the i and the exclamation point were dotted with overly large circles, and the words were underlined. He put it down with amusement and took one of the potions in his hands, examining it. He recognized the small blue Hogwarts emblem on the back of each one.

_I'd be an insult to Potion Masters everywhere if I drank potions just because a piece of paper told me to. This isn't Albus' handwriting. It must be Poppy's. In that case, I'm more afraid of Poppy's wrath if I don't take them than anything they could actually do to me._

He opened the first bottle and sniffed it. _A headache potion. How convenient. _He quickly downed its contents. He opened the other two and smelled those as well. He recognized one as a pepper up potion. The other, however, he wasn't too sure of. Relatively convinced that they wouldn't kill him, he drank them both and paused. _I'm still alive. I'll take that as a good sign._ Feeling his strength pick up considerably, he swung his slender legs over the bed and got to his feet.

_I'm surprised Poppy doesn't have me under supervision_, he thought. He took a few steps toward the bathroom and froze. His bathroom door was close, and he swore he heard the shower on and a female voice…singing?

_Poppy?_ He thought, then quickly dismissed that. _That's not her voice_._ And she certainly wouldn't be singing in my shower. But then…who would be singing in my shower? Maybe I shouldn't have taken that third potion. _

He went over to the door and knocked on it. He heard no answer, and the singing continued.

"Who is there?" he barked out. Once again, no answer. Getting frustrated, he declared, "I'm coming in!" He unlocked the door with his wand and stepped in. The singing stopped, and the dripping wet head of Amy Beckett poked out from behind the emerald green shower curtains. She looked alarmed for a moment, then relieved. Snape gaped at her in disbelief.

"Would you care to explain just exactly what the hell you are doing in my shower?" Snape inquired, _accio-ing_ a towel in Amy's direction.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed, shutting off the water and disappearing for a second to put the towel on. She reemerged and stepped out of the shower.

"As I am aware. And you are dripping all over my bathroom floor. Do you think you could stop expressing the obvious for one moment and answer the question?" Snape crossed his arms around his chest and started tapping his foot impatiently. Amy squeezed her long, dark hair out over the tub and put it up with a big white clip.

"Professor Dumbledore asked me to watch you after you went unconscious." Amy answered simply. "And did you know that you can change the color of the water in here? It's the coolest thing ever!" Snape scowled.

"Yes, Miss Beckett, I know perfectly well how to take a shower. And why would he ask you, of all people, to watch me?" Amy hesitated and looked down.

"I don't know…he said something about you not wanting to go to the hospital wing, and Madame Pomphrey said that someone had to watch you. So he asked me, and I said yes." She avoided his gaze for a few seconds and then snapped her head back up. "That reminds me. Did you take the potions on the table?"

"Yes," he answered, rolling his eyes. "I must admit that it was extremely difficult to ignore your marvelously articulate note." Amy blushed as Snape glared at the wall. He then stole a glance at her and realized that he should probably give her some privacy.

"Albus should be aware that I do not need a teenager to take care of me. Finish up in here and then get out of my sight." He closed the door and stepped back into the bedroom. Almost as soon as he entered, Albus Dumbledore appeared in the flames before him.

"Severus! You're awake!" He said cheerfully.

"Yes, so I'm told," Snape answered, sighing.

"And how are you feeling, my boy?"

"Annoyed." Dumbledore chuckled.

"I meant physically, Severus." Snape paused as he tried to figure out how he actually felt.

"Fine. Sort of…drained…but fine." He collapsed into the armchair next to his bed.

"And where is the lovely Miss Beckett?" Snape scowled at her name.

"I discovered her in my shower. She is…making herself decent." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at this. Snape decided to ignore it.

"Why exactly did you have her stay with me?" Snape ask. "Do you think me that incapable of caring for myself?" Dumbledore's face became serious.

"I had no say in the matter, Severus. Poppy decreed that someone stay with you. If you wish to press the matter, you had better take it up with her. Furthermore, Miss Beckett volunteered for the task." Snape straightened up in disbelief.

"What? The past two times we've been in the same room together for more than twenty minutes she's run away from me. I cannot believe that she would voluntarily spend more time around me than absolutely necessary." The seriousness in Dumbledore's face gradually started to leave.

"Perhaps that is exactly why she asked to stay with you; she felt guilty. Also, it is not entirely impossible that the girl is fond of you, Severus." He paused for a moment and Snape rolled his eyes. "But perhaps, more than anything, it is because she was worried about you. She is the one who found you, after all."

"What!?" This time Snape leaned all the way forward in his chair. "And what exactly was she doing out of her rooms at that time of night?" His eyes bore into the fire that contained Dumbledore's smiling face.

"I'm sure she was just curious, Severus. I do not think you were exactly a model student at your time in Hogwarts."

"But…but that has nothing at all to do…so what, did she just happen across my unconscious body on one of her nightly escapades?"

"Not exactly. You see, Peeves informed her of your location," Dumbledore informed him, the tiniest hint of annoyance creeping up in his voice.

"WHAT!?" This time Snape shot out of his chair. "What was she doing talking to Peeves? That girl is a magnet for trouble!"

"Nonsense, Severus, she just has a curious streak. You should thank her, you know. She managed to find you, get the attention of Minerva and myself, and look after you all night." He cleared his throat and continued. "Now then. I assume that when you are all fed and well you will come to my office and explain to me the nature of the meeting?"

"Not much to explain. None of us had news, he still has no clue where Amy is, and he _crucio-ed_ most of us seemingly for the sport of it. It was not as…exciting as my previously unconscious state seems to have led you to believe." Dumbledore looked at him thoughtfully.

"That does appear to be a bit troublesome. Ah well…I suppose we will shall simply have to wait and see." Just then Amy came out of the bathroom wearing jeans, an orange tank top and the towel wrapped around her head like a turban. Since Snape's back was to the bathroom door, Dumbledore spotted her first.

"Miss Beckett! Good morning dear!"

"Hi," she said, stifling a yawn.

"I must be going, but I wanted to thank you very sincerely for watching Severus. Severus, isn't there something you'd like to say?" Snape looked like a little kid who was being forced to apologize for something he obviously wasn't sorry for. Without looking at her, he mumbled a quick "thanks." Dumbledore smiled.

"Well then, I'll be off. Good morning to both of you! Or afternoon, rather. Bye bye!" He waved merrily, and his face disappeared from the fire. Amy looked down at her feet.

"I'll just go, then" Amy said sadly. She turned toward the door and was about to open it when Snape stopped her.

"Miss Beckett, wait." She turned back toward him and looked at him expectantly. Snape pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes, as if what he was about to say would physically cause him pain.

"You've taken shelter in my quarters through the night twice now and have used my shower. The least you can do is stay and have lunch with me." Amy's eyes light up and her face broke out into a grin.

"Really? Do you want me to go into the kitchens, then? Tonks showed me how," she said, already rushing toward the door excitedly.

"There's a faster way," he said, trying not to smirk at her. "Lacey!" he shouted, and with a pop a small, female house elf appeared.

"Yes sir, Master Snape, sir?" it squeaked nervously.

"We would like you to bring us some food. I don't care what it is, have her tell you what to prepare," he ordered, pointing to Amy. Lacey waddled tottered over to Amy, who needed to think for a few moments before finally deciding what she wanted.

"How about some cold cuts so we can make sandwiches? And uh…I don't know if you guys have like, chips or something down there, but that would be cool. And some pumpkin juice…I've really become quite fond of it." Snape found the urge to roll his eyes at her.

"I'll see what I can do, miss," squeaked the little elf as she bowed and popped away. As soon as she left, a startling male voice singing what sounded like "Let's start a riot" seemed to come from somewhere inside of Amy. Snape spun around.

"What in the hell is that?"

"It's my phone," replied Amy. "Professor Burbage fixed all my things so they work now." She flipped her phone up, looked down for a few seconds, and put it in the back pocket of her jeans. Before Snape could respond, Lacey the house elf along with three others popped into the room. With them they brought a plate filled with rolls, dishes of various kinds of cold cuts, another dish containing four bowls filled with different types of potato chips, and a plate carrying two pitchers of pumpkin juice. One of them went over to a small table that was sitting in the corner of the room and magically enlarged it. The rest set the food down neatly on it.

"Will yous be needing anything else?" asked Lacey.

"No, you have by far exceeded my expectations once again. Thank you." He nodded his head slightly at the elves.

"Any time, Master Snape!" she bowed, and all of the house elves left the room. Snape and Amy looked at all the food on the table.

"They really outdo themselves every time," he said while conjuring up two chairs. "I've known Lacey since I was a boy here," he explained, more to himself than to Amy.

Amy grabbed a roll and started piling weird combinations of things on it, including pepperoni, cheese, turkey, and potato chips. Snape started at her with his eyebrow raised.

"What exactly is it that you are doing?" he asked.

"I'm making a sandwich. Obviously. And you're just standing there with a roll in your hand staring at me. Do you think you could stop expressing the obvious for one moment and make your own sandwich?" Amy asked, laughing. Snape glared at her when he realized she was mocking him but allowed himself a small smirk.

"Those are not things one normally finds together in a sandwich. You are, quite possibly, one of the strangest individuals I have ever met." Amy beamed at him, which confused him even more.

"At least my sandwich is fun. Yours is all normal and boring."

"Is that so?" Snape asked, his smirk getting bigger by the second. "Fine, I'll do it your way," he said as he grabbed a handful of chips and piled it on top of his ham and Swiss. Amy giggled, and they both sat down. Snape looked distastefully at the sandwich in his hand. Amy giggled again.

"It won't kill you, you know," she said, taking a huge, crunchy bite into hers.

"Yes, well let's hope so," he said, leaning back slightly and wincing; apparently he was still sore from yesterday. This didn't not go unnoticed by Amy, who put her food down gloomily.

"It was because of me, wasn't it?" Snape gave her a questioning look.

"What are you talking about, girl?

"What they did to you last night. It was because of me." Her eyes started to become misty. Snape began to panic internally. Crying girls were not his forte.

"Don't be foolish. The Dark Lord does not show mercy to any, even to those whom he thinks are loyal to him. It has nothing to do with you. Is that perfectly clear?" Amy looked away from him.

"I guess," she said in a small voice.

"Miss Beckett, look at me." Startled, she looked into his deep, black eyes.

"You must cease blaming yourself for anything that goes on here. To blame yourself is to fight a loosing battle. Once you become submerged in it, it is very difficult to get back to the surface." Amy didn't know what to say to the strange, unexpected advice, so she just nodded. They ate in silence for a few minutes, before Amy remembered a question that had been on her mind.

"Severus, you know that potion you took before you…passed out?" Snape raised his eyebrow at her.

"And how do you know about that?"

"Madame Pomphrey found the vials. Anyway, what was that potion supposed to do?" He frowned at her.

"It was to heal any internal wounds that I might have incurred from the events of last night. Why do you ask?" Amy felt her skin begin to prick up with goose bumps, and suddenly felt very cold. _That cut on his face hadn't been internal at all. _

"Just wondering," she said, not looking at him. Clearly she was lying, but Snape did not press the matter. They finished eating in silence, and Snape was relieved to find out that the sandwich did not indeed kill him. He almost…enjoyed it. But he could never let Amy know that. He checked his watch after they were completely finished and jumped slightly.

"Miss Beckett, I sincerely thank you for observing and having lunch with me. It appears that I have a class to teach in five minutes time. If you would be so kind as to excuse me…"

"Do you need help cleaning up?" she asked, standing up after him. With one wave of his wand, all of the food was gone and the table returned to normal size. He smirked and folded his arms.

"Okay, I guess you don't then. See you later, and try to stay conscious." She gave him a devilish grin. He attempted to throw the most intimidating glare he could muster in her direction, but she turned and walked out the door. He tired to glare through the door instead but a small smile invaded his lips.

"Stay conscious, indeed."

A/N: Thanks, as always, to my lovely readers and reviewers. You guys inspire me to write faster. I've recently started a new story, _Autumn Falls_, which can be found here: http colon / /www. fanfiction .net /s/4451054/1/AutumnFalls (no spaces). Enjoy.


	14. Chapter 14: Bonsai

Chapter 14: Bonsai

Amy Beckett was sitting in the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table with Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys. She was immersed in a thick, black book called Theories of Personality with a picture of a featureless face on the cover. She had a pink highlighter in one hand and a spoon in the other, with which she was absentmindedly scooping up the air above a generous bowl of chocolate pudding.

It was lunchtime on the last day of term. Exams were soon to come for everyone, including Amy. However, at the present, even Hermione was more engaged with the happenings of the table than she was.

"Oy, give it a rest, Chlo," Ron said, a bit of ham falling out of his mouth. Harry chuckled, and Hermione and Amy grimaced.

"Honestly, Ronald, do you have any semblance of manners? And leave her be, at least she has the sense to study. When was the last time you even opened a school book?" Ron ignored the last question and pointed his fork at Hermione. Harry and Hermione quickly parted to dodge a piece of projectile ham as it flew toward them.

"You're a bad influence, you are," he joked. Hermione rolled her eyes. Everyone turned back to Amy, who had managed so far to evade conversation. Harry reached over and rescued a strand of Amy's hair from a dangerously close pudding encounter. It was then that she looked up.

"Sorry mate, but if you're not more aware of your surroundings, you're going to be wearing them," Harry chuckled. Amy smiled slightly, put down her highlighter, and sighed.

"I'm sorry guys, there's just so much stuff to remember. I'm afraid I'm just gonna blank out on the tests or something." Ron snorted.

"You've been studying every second I've looked at you for the past two weeks. The only way you could blank out is if someone _obliviated_ you before the test. Not that that would happen!" Ron added, noting the look of terror on Amy's face as he spoke.

"Well, she's got the right idea. We should head to the library right now. Are you coming?" Hermione asked Amy.

"Yeah, you can't stay in here all day, you know. Don't want you turning into a zombie or anything." Harry joked.

"A what?" Ron asked as Hermione shoved him toward the door.

"No, really, you guys go on. I just want to finish up in here. I'll catch up with you later, I promise," Amy said, trying to sound convincing.

"Fine, but if we don't see you by dinner we're going to recruit a search party to come find you," Harry laughed.

"Yeah, don't break your brain or anything," Ron called out as Hermione rolled her eyes. Amy gave a small wave. She continued to flip pages for a few minutes and didn't even notice when someone sat down right next to her.

"Wotcher," whispered a bubbly, female voice in her ear. Amy jumped so violently that her book flew clear off the table. The few heads that were still in the Great Hall turned to look at her. Their eyes went from her to the girl with neon orange hair cut in a bob.

"Tonks!" Amy exclaimed, embracing her. "Have you also come to warn me about the dangers of studying too much?"

"Actually," started Tonks, who picked up a fork from the table and starting twirling it around her fingers, "I've come to help you pack."

"What?!" Amy exclaimed, the projectile textbook temporarily forgotten.

"That's right, you're going home for a little while. Surely you didn't think they'd keep you prisoner here forever!"

"I…I'm going home? But how? When?" Tonks smiled.

"We're leaving tomorrow. You're going to take your exams at your school, and then you're free to do whatever you want. Dumbledore thinks that you'll be safe, since He Who Must Not Be Named must have figured out that you're under protection by now. You'll have to come back to the wizarding world in a few weeks, but until then, one or two of us are going to have to stay with you. Severus and I am bringing you there, but he doesn't kn-…"

"You and Hermione can stay with me!" Amy interrupted excitedly. "Wait, I have to go find everyone and let them know!"

"We can tell them later, let's go get your stuff ready now!" Tonks skipped over to Amy's book and threw it at her, saying "don't forget this!" Amy looked up a second too late and the book hit her on the arm. Before she had time to respond, a tall, pale black figure came up behind her.

"Throwing books at students, Nymphadora? Even I have yet to enact that level of punishment. However, if I were allowed…" he trailed off. Amy recovered from the book attack.

"So what time are we…?" she started, when Tonks started violently shaking her head. Snape looked from Amy to Tonks. Amy raised her eyebrow at Tonks.

"What time are we what, Miss Beckett?" Snape almost whispered.

"Um…what time are we eating again? I'm starving!" she said, her nervous giggle giving her away entirely. Snape crossed his arms.

"Nice try. What are you hiding?" However, before she got a chance to respond, Albus Dumbledore came up behind them.

"Severus! Just the person I was hoping to speak with. Shall we take a walk?"

"In a minute, Headmaster. Miss Beckett was just…giving me an explanation."

"Nonsense, my dear boy!" Dumbledore said, grabbing Snape by the elbow and pulling him toward the door. "The day is young and the air is crisp!"

"But…you don't understand…they're obviously up to something," Snape tried, but to no avail. Dumbledore succeeded in whisking him away, and gradually his complaints became inaudible. Amy turned back to Tonks.

"He doesn't know yet," Tonks explained.

"Oh. Well then. It will be interesting when he finds out." Both girls laughed and walked out of the Great Hall toward the Dungeons. When they passed the Entrance Hall, both girls heard a loud, deep and pissed off "What?!" Both girls paused for a second, looked at each other, and laughed all the way to Amy's rooms.

* * *

"Oww, that was my foot!"

"Sorry..I can't see…ah!"

"Would you two imbeciles kindly stop moving so that we can figure out how to get out of this mess?" Snape drawled to Amy and Tonks, all of whom were trapped in Amy's closet.

"Who are you calling imbeciles? Who's idea was it to apparate into her _closet?"_ Tonks whispered harshly.

"The Headmaster thought it would be the best option on the off chance that somebody might be in Miss Beckett's room." Snape tried to explain quietly.

"Oh, and I suppose the loud thump and voices wouldn't clue them in one bit!" Tonks said.

"For the love of Merlin, woman, keep your mouth shut until we find a way out of here. Actually, feel free to keep it shut longer."

"I hate to interrupt," Amy interjected, "but we can get out if you slide either one of these doors in the opposite direction." Snape did just that, and the three of them came tumbling out of the closet onto the floor.

"Well, since nobody's come charging in with a weapon of some sort, I think it's safe to say that we're the only ones here." Amy proclaimed. "That, or everyone's gone deaf."

"Yes, well, we can't be too careful. Miss Beckett, go check to make sure we are indeed alone."

"Alright," Amy said. She quickly ran around the small house and ran back into her room.

"The coast is clear," Amy declared.

"Good. Now to get you to your school. Wait a minute, how are we going to do that? I for one blatantly refuse to go through the horrors of public transportation again." Snape said.

"It's ok, we don't have to. I'll drive," Amy said, giving a devilish smile.

"You know how to drive?" Snape asked interestedly.

"Of course I know how to drive. I dislike public transportation just as much as you do. I just take it to get to and from school."

"And are you an…adequate driver?" Snape asked hesitantly. Amy put her hands on her hips.

"I'll have you know that I am an excellent driver! Now let's go, I don't want to be late for exams!" Amy said as she grabbed a set of keys lying on a shelf and threw it into a small, black purse where she also threw another set of keys, her cell phone, her wallet, and her license. She led Snape and Tonks outside toward a sparkling silver Voltzwagon beetle.

"Shot gun!" Tonks yelled, running toward the passenger seat.

"Not bloody likely," Snape growled, pushing her out of the way. "I'm not riding in the back of _that_."

"There's nothing wrong with my car" Amy said, opening the driver's side. She waited while Tonks and Snape glared at each other and poked her head out the window when they didn't follow her. "Get _in_, children!"

Snape pushed Tonks out of the way with one sweep of his arm and got in next to Amy. Tonks huffed and got in the back. Amy turned on the radio and played with the dial for a little while. Then she turned to Tonks, who was tangled in her seatbelt.

"No, it goes that way, yeah, that's it." Then she turned to Snape.

"And why isn't your seatbelt on?" Snape raised an eyebrow at her.

"I am a wizard, in case you didn't know, Miss Beckett. I wasn't aware that you planned on getting into an accident today."

"Nobody _plans_ on getting into an accident, you idiot. Now buckle your seatbelt before I come over there and do it for you!" Snape glared at her and looked like he was considering what to say. He finally exhaled loudly and did as he was told.

Amy smirked and pulled out of her driveway onto a crowded street. She said to Snape playfully, "You can play with the radio if you want." Snape glared back at her and pushed the button to turn it off. Amy rolled her eyes. "I should have known."

She looked out the rearview mirror at Tonks, who was excitedly looking out the window and wasn't paying much attention to what was going on inside the car. Snape sat with his arms crossed, glaring in front of him. Soon enough they were on the expressway. Things were pretty uneventful until Amy started purposely accelerating and glaring out the window.

"What exactly are you trying to do, Miss Beckett?" Snape asked suspiciously.

"First of all, you'd better start calling me Amy before I start calling you…well I'll make up something that you won't like. Secondly, this guy's trying to cut me off and I'm not gonna let him."

"So you are willing to stake your…road pride on our lives, Miss Beckett?"

"Keep calling me Miss Beckett and I'm gonna crash the car on your side," Amy said maliciously. She gradually started getting faster until her car and the car next to her were neck and neck.

"Weee!" Tonks said gleefully, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Don't encourage her!" Snape shouted behind her. "Miss Beckett…what are you playing at? Slow this car down before you kill us!" Amy, however, did not let up.

"I'm not going to kill us, just you," Amy laughed.

"I don't have a problem with that," Tonks chimed in.

"If I were allowed to care for my own well-being, _Amy, _I'm sure I would be terrified," Snape retorted.

Amy, who was caught off guard by both the use of her first name and Snape's puzzling statement, slowed down. The car next to her shot forward and went right in front of Amy, the horn honking as it passed.

"Fuck you, jackass!" Amy yelled out the open window.

"You tell 'em, Aim! Fuck you!" Tonks yelled enthusiastically.

Snape said nothing and looked out the window with his arms folded. Amy chanced a glance at him.

"Severus?" she said meekly. He didn't respond. Amy sighed, and there was an awkward silence in the car for the rest of the ride that was occasionally broken by Tonks' even more awkward attempts at entertainment. They finally got to Amy's school and parked. She turned the engine off and turned toward Snape.

"So I guess I'll go inside now," Amy said tentatively. "You and Tonks…"

"Will be here when you are finished," Snape said.

"Good luck!" said Tonks.

Amy went to open the door but paused. "Severus…I'm…"

"Going to be late if you don't get inside," he finished coldly. Amy looked down at the ground, opened the door and left without another word.

* * *

Amy came out of the building and looked around until she saw Tonks' sky blue head poking out of her silver bug. The combination was extremely noticeable. Amy got in the car and turned the ignition.

"So, how was it?" Tonks asked.

"It was…alright. I knew most of the stuff for three of the exams…I'm not sure about history…then again, I'm not really sure about any of them…I definitely failed."

"Nonsense!" Tonks said. "From what I've heard, you've been studying every minute the past couple of weeks! I know you did great!"

Amy smiled at her and pulled away from the curb. However, she parked the car again five minutes later. It was then that Snape spoke up.

"Where are we?" he asked. Amy turned to him.

"Well, I thought that since you guys have been so nice to me and that none of us have eaten since this morning, that I'd take you both out to a late lunch in the city!"

Tonks clasped her hands together.

"Really?" How nice! I'm so excited! What kind of place is it?"

"Hibachi," Amy answered.

"What?" asked Snape and Tonks in unison.

"Hibachi. It's Japanese food. A chef comes out and cooks it in front of you on a giant metal plate. You've never had it before?"

"My father was never one for…family outings," Snape said flatly. Amy decided not to press the issue and got out of the car. They walked up a red set of stairs and into a brightly lit building shaped like a tent with red and black windows. A petite Asian woman holding menus approached them.

"How many?" she asked.

"Three," Amy replied.

"Do you have reservations?" she asked. Amy looked down at her feet.

"Oh, erm…"

"It's fine!" said the woman. "Come right this way!" Amy glanced behind her to make sure that Tonks and Snape were still there. The Asian woman led them to a long table that was already occupied expect for three vacant seats. Amy sat herself farthest from the others at the table, while Tonks sat the closest and Snape sat in the middle after looking from Amy to Tonks in distaste.

The family that had already been there consisted of what appeared to be a husband and wife with their small son, who couldn't have been older than six. He wore a very conspicuous, crown-shaped plastic hat with the words 'birthday boy' on it and was holding two plastic toy cars in his hands. Across from him were two older people who could have been his grandparents. Amy gave a polite nod and a smile towards them and turned back to Snape and Tonks. They looked around the room at their surroundings.

The room was dimly lit, with long, low lamps above each of the tables. The black walls were covered in pictures of Japanese characters and white cats. There were probably only around ten tables in the room, and most of them were full.

Soon after they took their seats, the waitress came and took their drink orders while handing them menus. Another waitress set bowls of soup and salad down in front of them.

"Wow…this place is fancy!" Tonks exclaimed loudly, causing multiple heads to turn in her direction. She picked up her bowl of soup and slurped it loudly. Snape, however, was staring between his chopsticks and his salad. Amy smiled.

"You put them like this," Amy demonstrated, putting one under her thumb and the other under her pointer finer, effortlessly picking up a piece of lettuce and putting it into her mouth. Snape managed to pick up some dressing-covered lettuce and promptly dropped it onto his lap. Tonks snorted into her soup, successfully getting it all over her face. The parents of the small child glared at her while Amy tried not to laugh as Snape glared at her.

Soon the waitresses came back and cleared the area. A man dressed in red and white with two very large knives in his apron approached the table. Snape tensed up and kicked Amy under the table.

"Relax," she hissed. "If I hired a hit man to kill you, I would do it after I ate, not before." Snape raised an eyebrow at her.

"Seeing as how you almost had us killed just hours ago, I didn't think the idea was quite so far-fetched." Amy rolled her eyes.

"Are you still mad about that? I'm sorry, okay? I promise on the way back I'll drive like a normal person. Happy?" Snape was about to reply when the clatter of knives on metal stopped him. The chef was making a show out of throwing his knives and spatula and banging them on the table. Tonks stared in wonder and clapped, while the child started screaming. The mother gave him another little toy car, which seemed to distract him.

The chef started to place food on the table and expertly hacked away at it. He took a stalk of zucchini and chopped it into small, square pieces. Then he balanced a piece on one of his knives and look at Snape.

"Come on big boy, play catch!" said the chef playfully.

"I'm sorry?" Snape asked, looking utterly bewildered.

"I throw, you catch," he repeated, flipping the piece of zucchini.

"I really don't think I…" Snape started, but was interrupted as a piece of zucchini was expertly propelled into his mouth. Snape chewed slowly and glared at the chef, who beamed at him.

"Nice catch, big boy! Who's next?"

"Me!" yelled Tonks and the little boy simultaneously. The boy's grandparents turned their noses at Tonks, who was too excited to notice. Everyone else at the table got it on the first try except Tonks, whose first two pieces of zucchini bounced off her chin.

Next the chef started making rice. After it sizzled and danced on the oven for a few moments, the chef started carving it into the shape of a heart. He moved his spatula under it so it appeared to be beating.

"Beating heart, for you, big boy," the chef said looking at Snape. Amy covered her mouth to hide a smirk while Tonks leaned over Amy towards him.

"Looks like you make new friends everywhere, Sev."

"Stuff it, you infernal annoyance," Snape growled at her. This sent Tonks and Amy into a fit of giggles. After more minutes of observed silence, the food was ready and everyone started to eat.

After everyone was done, the waitresses cleared the plates away. They little boy's toy car rolled onto the stove. He climbed onto the table to get it, but his father pulled him back, saying, "whoa, that's still hot, sport!"

"I'll get it!" Tonks volunteered, reaching across the table. Amy slapped her arm away.

"It's gonna be hot for you too, stupid," Amy said playfully.

"You should have just let her learn that lesson the hard way," Snape sneered into Amy's ear. "Although, I wouldn't mind if that little brat was sacrificed first."

Suddenly, a gong went off, and someone shouted the word "bonsai!" The wait staff started surrounding their table. Snape went to reach for his wand, but Tonks punched him in the side. He leaned over to that side and growled at her. One of the chefs came over with a bowl of ice cream and a large, white ceramic cat. They went in front of the little boy and started waving his arms, singing in Japanese. A man with a camera ran up, took a picture of the boy and his family, and ran back.

"Happy birthday!" yelled Tonks across the table. The mother gave a fake, tight-lipped smile and turned her attention back to get son, who was too busy with his ice cream to notice anything else.

"Hey, Snape," Tonks poked him in the shoulder, "Isn't your birthday coming up soon?"

"For your information, my birthday is nowhere near here. And don't even think about it, unless you wish to become involved in a rather…unfortunate accident in which you become very well acquainted with the oven."

The waitress came and put the check on the table. Snape went for it but Amy grabbed it first and put the money in. She counted it twice to make sure it was correct and handed it back to the waitress.

"Can we please…what's the phrase…get the hell out of here?" Snape asked hastily. They got up and started walking toward Amy's car. Snape flinched ever so slightly, and Amy looked at him questioningly.

"I just remembered that the Headmaster instructed me to return to Hogwarts for a Heads of House meeting. You two can manage without me," Snape explained quickly, walking away from them.

"Wait!" Amy shouted, bewildered.

"Miss Beckett, I am already later than I would like. Thank you for lunch. I must go now." And with that he all but ran around the block, into a corner so that Amy and Tonks wouldn't see him grasp his left arm in pain, take his wand out, transfigure a quill into an ugly mask, and disappear on the spot.

* * *

Hermione, Amy and Tonks were sprawled out around Amy's room. Hermione was reading one of Amy's psychology textbooks without blinking, Tonks was flipping through one of Amy's old yearbooks, periodically giggling, and Amy was sorting through a pile of clothes. It was about 8:00 p.m. a week into Amy's summer vacation.

"Guys," Amy said, holding up a pink shirt with a pair of camouflage pants, "Do you think this is too casual for dinner next week? I don't want them to think I'm a rude, stupid muggle or anything." Tonks laughed and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, you're thinking about it way too much. The Weasley's love muggles, they won't care what you're wearing. And why are you even worrying about it if it's a week away?"

"Yeah, there's nothing wrong with that. It's better than what I would wear if I were going," Tonks said. She stopped flipping through the yearbook. "Hey, I found you!" she exclaimed.

"Congratulations, detective." She threw the clothes into a bag and abandoned the pile. "Don't you guys want to do something a little more…fun?"

"Like what?" Tonks asked, holding up the yearbook to show Hermione, who leaned in to see.

"I don't know. Have you guys ever played Playstation before?"

"My neighbors back home have one, but I've never played before. I've never seen much use for it," Hermione explained.

"What is it? It sounds like fun!" Tonks exclaimed, tumbling off the bed.

"It's a video game system, and it is fun. I know…we'll play Dance Dance Revolution!"

"I'm not much of a dancer…" Hermione started hesitantly.

"You don't really have to dance. All you have to do is follow the allows on the screen by stepping on the corresponding arrows on the dance pad," Amy lectured, taking the dance pad out of her closet, then fumbling around with the television.

"I don't know about this…" Hermione said, backing away.

"You'll be fine, trust me. I'll show you how to do it first. Stand back, I don't want to fall on either of you," Amy said as she cleared a space for herself. After a few moments she picked a song. Tonks and Hermione watched in amazement as she maneuvered the controls with her feet.

"This has to be the strangest thing I've ever seen, and that's saying something," Hermione commented.

"It's about to get a whole lot stranger," Amy smiled. The song started, and arrows shot onto the screen, scrolling up rapidly in rows. Amy perfectly timed her feet as she hit most of the arrows on target. Once or twice she stumbled but was able to regain her balance. When the song ended, both Hermione and Tonks stared at her with their mouths open.

"I can't do that! How do you expect me to do that?" Hermione panicked.

"Don't worry, I was on expert. I'll put you on beginner, it even has a little person who shows you what to do," Amy said, sitting on the floor to try to regain her breath. "Who wants to go first?"

"Me!" Tonks exclaimed, jumping up. Hermione became visibly less pale for a moment, but then spoke up.

"Do you really think that's such a good idea? No offense Tonks…but you're not exactly the most…well what I mean to say is that…you can sometimes be…"

"…a complete and total klutz?" Tonks finished for her, smiling.

"Don't worry, I'm about as much of a klutz as she is.," Amy reassured Hermione. "I'll catch you, Tonks!" she added, dramatically holding out her arms. All three girls started laughing. Tonks played three songs and decided to stop when she almost fell into the tv. Hermione played one song and gave up, consistently missing most of the arrows.

"Well now that that's over, what do we do now?" Hermione asked, breathlessly.

"I know! We can play wizards truth or dare!" Tonks suggested.

"What's that?" Amy asked, tilting her head at Tonks.

"It's just like muggle truth or dare…only-"

"Only you're magically bound to perform whatever dare or tell whatever truth is asked of you. If you don't, bad things start to happen to you. I've read of one wizard who had boils all over his skin and whose hair turned literally to straw before he finally admitted to his girlfriend that he'd been unfaithful. It's not a very wise game to play if you have secrets that need hiding," Hermione interjected.

"Come on, Aim! You don't have any secrets that need hiding, do you?" Tonks asked with a mischievous grin on her face.

"If you're thinking of…shut it," Amy said with no malice in her voice.

"Am I missing something?" Hermione asked. However, a second later a look of realization flashed across her face. "Of course…it's none of my business…"

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can trust you, Hermione," Amy said, putting one arm around her shoulder. The girls formed a triangle around the floor.

"Well, are you gonna tell her or what?" Tonks asked.

"Why don't you just tell her then if you're so anxious about it?" Amy asked.

"She's got a crush on old Snape!" Tonks blurted out, throwing her arms out dramatically.

"What?" Hermione blanched. "_Professor_ Snape? You can't be serious!"

"Hey, aren't you the one who's always saying that he's a good guy and that everyone should respect him?" Tonks asked Hermione.

"Well I mean…I respect him as a person but…its just that…well…he doesn't seem like your type. Ron and the twins have some very handsome, older brothers who are around your age….surely if a relationship is what you're after…" Hermione trailed off, not knowing quite how to finish that off.

"No one ever said anything about a relationship. I'm not stupid enough to think that he would ever have feelings for me," Amy said, looking at the wall.

"I wouldn't say that. He doesn't always act like himself when you're around. If you can imagine it he's usually a lot…meaner."

"Is that even possible?" Amy asked, and the trio started giggling madly. It wasn't until minutes later that Tonks and Hermione realized that something was wrong.

"Amy, are you okay?" Tonks sobered up at the sight of Amy clutching her stomach in pain.

"I'm fine I just…lately I've been getting these…" she didn't finish and leaned her head on the wall instead. Hermione and Tonks got up and kneeled by her sides.

"Is there anything we can do?" Hermione asked, putting her hand on Amy's shoulder and looking alarmingly between her and Tonks. Amy, however, seemed to snap out of it after a few minutes.

"I'm fine. I've just been getting these pains lately, like people are taking turns stabbing me in the side. But it usually goes away after a little while." Amy said dismissively, trying to brush it off.

"That's not good at all. You should see a doctor. Or Madame Pomphrey," Hermione advised.

"Maybe. I'm probably fine though."

"Well you won't be if you scare us like that again," Tonks said, stifling a yawn.

"Maybe we should just call it a night," Amy suggested.

"But it's so early!" Tonks said, this time not able to contain the yawn that escaped from her.

"And you can hardly stay awake," Amy said. "Bed, now." The girls shuffled around and got settled. Tonks and Hermione shuffled into the two sleeping bags that Amy had laid out of them earlier.

"Sweet dreams," Amy said to the other two.

"Yeah, about Snape," Tonks said. Amy threw a pillow at her face and she said no more.

**A/N: Ok, I know I have a lot of explaining to do. First off, I am SO sorry I haven't updated since August. I've been SO busy, you have no idea. First, my computer was broken for like 2 months and the best buy idiots didn't fix it the first time so I had to send it twice. Secondly, I've been so busy with school it's rediculous. Bio lab is slowly killing me. But I will have you know that I've been writing during boring classes, in little letters in my notebook so no one else can see. I have no intention of stopping this story until it is finished. I'm looking foward to the next chapter...it's probably the chapter I've been waiting to write since this whole thing started. Thank you so much for being loyal and continuing to read. I promise the next update won't take nearly as long! Much love!**


	15. Chapter 15: Which witch?

Chapter 15: Which Witch?

Severus Snape was pacing nervously back and forth in his home at Spinner's End. Occasional drops of sweat dripped from his forehead as he trembled slightly from lack of sleep. He had been summoned three times in the past week, and was feeling exceptionally panicked.

_Why are you worried_, asked the logical part of his brain. _Albus has made certain that the girl is guarded by at least two Aurors at all times. _He ran a shaking hand through his hair and sat down on a hard, straight-backed chair. This and a shabby, stained wooden table were the only pieces of furniture left in the dank, shadow-covered house.

_But none of this _is_ logical_, thought another part of his mind. In fact, the Dark Lord had been growing progressively more irrational during each meeting. Lately, he had taken to summoning his Death Eaters frequently for twenty minutes at a time, not directly telling them anything, but rambling on about some sort of "secret weapon," that victory was near, and that all those who were opposed to him would be punished.

_And that potion. _At the last meeting, the Dark Lord had asked Snape to stay after and requested, or rather, demanded, him to make him a very peculiar potion. A potion whose mere request frightened him beyond belief.

He reached for a piece of toast, and instead threw it with the ceramic plate that held it at the wall as the all-too-familiar pain shot up his left arm. Hating himself and every choice that he ever made throughout his life, he stuffed the vial into his robes and braced himself for another bout of insanity.

* * *

"Welcome, my loyal servantssss," Voldemort addressed his circle of silent, masked followers. Although none of them knew what to expect, none of them chanced a glance anywhere other than their Lord. They stood very still while he paced inside the circle, the same hysterical glint in his eyes from the previous meetings. However, this time there almost seemed to be a bit of bounce in his step, like he was bursting with news.

As soon as he turned around, Snape glanced at the others in the circle and immediately noticed that something wasn't right. At least three Death Eaters were missing, maybe more. Why would the Dark Lord be in such good spirits if some of his followers obviously weren't responding to being summoned?

"Today is the day we've been waiting for, my friendsss," he hissed. Still, nobody moved. Voldemort continued to pace.

"Now, I know what some of you have been saying behind my back. You think that I'm going insane. You think that I've lost my nerve!" he stopped walking abruptly and slowly looked into the eyes of each of the Death Eaters present.

"But my nerve has never been stronger than on this day. Malfoy!" he shouted this last part, and some of the Death Eaters jumped. "Bring her out!"

If Snape's skin had been any darker, he would have paled at these words. The missing Death Eaters returned with a young woman. Although she wasn't exactly moving willingly, the Death Eaters were being uncharacteristically gentle wither her, as if she were made of glass. He peered over his fellow Death Eaters' shoulders and tightened his grip on his wand as he saw a familiar sheet of dark brown hair.

_It can't be_ thought Snape. However, his worst fears were confirmed when the girl was brought into the circle. The light from the moon reflected the frightened face of Amy Beckett.

It took all of Snape's years of spying not to outwardly react. Inside, however, he was a mess.

_Albus assured me she was safe_, he thought, flares of anger occasionally passing through the wave of panic. Looking closer, he saw that she was trembling and sobbing silently. He didn't blame her.

Voldemort slowly walked up to her, looking at her with…was it awe? He held out his grotesque, white-green hand.

"Come closer, my dear," he said, more tenderly than Snape had ever heard him speak before. She didn't move.

"You have nothing to fear from me, if you only do as I say," he coxed her, smoothly.

_What the hell? _Snape mentally asked himself. He peered at her from his position facing her in the circle. He couldn't help but notice that there was something off about her. His suspicions were confirmed when she started to speak.

"There…there must be some mistake," the girl sobbed, with no trace of an American accent.

_It's not her, _Snape thought. He would have breathed a sigh of relief if he had not thought the better of it.

_But then who…_ Snape stopped allowing himself to think when Voldemort turned toward him and put one hand on the girl's shoulder.

"There is no mistake…my dear," he said, caressing her cheek. Then he turned to the Death Eaters.

"And where are your manners? Is this any way to greet your Lord's daughter?"

Every Death Eater stopped breathing, including Snape.

_What is he playing at? _Then he remembered the potion in his robes. _How is it even…remotely possible? None of this makes sense. _

The Death Eaters looked around at each other in silence as Voldemort waited for…something. One of them slowly bowed to the ground, and the rest followed. Voldemort glowed with excitement and anticipation as he fondly ran his fingers through the quivering girl's dark hair. She stayed mute, too petrified to say anything.

_Miss Beckett never mentioned that she had a sister…a twin sister. Surely that would have come up…I'm dreaming. That's the only solution. I'm in a horrible nightmare, and I will soon wake up. _

However, he didn't wake up, and instead was called to attention.

"Severussss. The potion!" he called. Snape didn't hesitate as he stepped toward them. He bowed down before presenting him with the potion. Voldemort placed it between his fingers and turned again to the circle.

"My daughter is the key to finally destroying Harry Potter. It pained me to have to hide her away for so long, making her believe to be somebody else, but on this day her true nature shall be known to all. Her power will be enough to rival all of yours combined. Just this simple test, and then we shall be leaps closer to victory! Lucius, her wand!"

_So she's a witch. That's interesting_, Snape thought as he watched Lucius hand her a wand. Voldemort opened the vial, drank the crimson-colored liquid inside, and pointed his wand at the girl. Her wand arm flew up of its own according and matched his. The wands vibrated for a moment and turned red. From the look of horror on Voldemort's face, this was not what he expected to happen. He rounded on Snape.

"Severussss! What has happened? Have you made me a faulty potion?"

"I can assure you my Lord," started Snape, "that the utmost care was taken in preparing your potion. The results seem to indicate that, unfortunately, this girl is not your daughter." Voldemort turned from Snape to the girl. He grabbed her roughly by the upper arm.

"You, girl! Are your parents not Alphard and Migena Black?"

"No-no," the girl stammered. "Elija and M-Maria Marlow.

"Fools!" Voldemort thundered, whipping around to look at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. "You brought me the wrong girl!"

Malfoy bowed forward. "My Lord, we were sure that this was her. She looks exactly the same as the picture. She is the same age, the same build…"

"Silence!" he screeched. Then he rounded on the girl, wand pointed straight at her heart.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" he yelled, and the girl ceased to be. Snape could not believe his eyes, his ears, or any of his other sense organs. He couldn't remember the last time the Dark Lord was so angry that he killed someone so quickly, without even a hint of torture.

"Get out of my sight! All of you! Except…you three," he pointed at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. The circle broke as the Death Eaters scurried to get away from the Dark Lord's wrath. As Snape was dissaparating, he could distinctly hear the word _crucio_ and the sounds of the tortured screams of his comrades.

* * *

As soon as Snape got to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he stormed up to Dumbledore's office and spat the password at the stone gargoyle.

However, Dumbledore was not who he found when he entered. Instead, at Dumbledore's desk, looked a very annoyed, very frazzled Minerva McGonagall.

"Where is she!?" Snape shouted at her, slamming his fists on the desks. McGonagall jumped slightly.

"Where is who, Severus?" she asked sharply, peering up at him over the stack of papers on the desk.

"Miss Beckett! Amy Beckett! Where is she?" The older witch stood up and matched him at eye level.

"There is no need to shout at me, Severus. Miss Beckett is currently at the Burrow. She is coming back tomorrow afternoon with Arthur and Remus."

"She is coming back _tonight_, and I am bringing her!" Snape declared, already making his way back out of the room.

"Severus, what on earth has gotten into you? You really should learn to relax." Snape stopped moving and looked her straight in the eyes.

"I watched a girl DIE today, Minerva. A girl who looked, in fact, just like Miss Beckett. Only she was a witch, and she was British. Also, the Dark Lord seemed to think she was his daughter. If there is any reason for me to relax, kindly enlighten me."

"Oh, dear," was all McGonagall could say. She maneuvered around the desk to stand in front of Snape. "Shall I contact Albus? He has a very important engagement, but surely I can…"

"It can wait until I bring her back here," Snape said.

"Now Severus, I daresay Miss Beckett is in good hands. I do not think that Molly Weasley would be very happy if you stormed into her home unannounced and took one of her charges."

"I don't give a good God damn what makes Molly Weasley happy!" he shouted. "What time does the Headmaster plan on returning?"

"About 10:00 p.m. tonight. But Severus…"

"That is sufficient, tell him to expect me then. I shall be right back."

And with that he stormed out of Dumbledore's office, leaving Minerva standing with her mouth opened and head tilted, a bewildered expression on her face.

* * *

Amy, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were in Ron's room at the Burrow. Hermione and Amy were playing gobstones and were being coached by Harry and Ron. All four of them were drenched in a thick, yellowish liquid. Ginny was off in the corner, pretending to read but occasionally glaring at them.

"No Aim, you've got to put some power into it," suggested Ron.

"Like this?" she asked, and proceeded to flick one of the stones across the room, forcing Hermione to roll out of the way. "Shit, sorry," she apologized, laughing.

"No, not like that. Honestly, I don't know which of you is worse. You've been at it for ages and neither of you has won. Harry and I could have played ten games by now!"

"That's funny, I don't recall wanting to play this game. You and Harry forced us. What do you suggest we do?" But before they could answer, Fred and George came bursting into the room.

"So who's up for a game of Quidditch?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, you can be on my team, wifey," George said, putting his arm around Amy.

"Are you sure your _wifey_ would be able to handle it?" Ginny asked, her voice full of venom. "No matter, as long as I get to be beater." Everyone looked at her questioningly. She pointedly ignored all of them.

"Um, maybe Quidditch isn't such a good idea right now. Besides, shouldn't dinner be ready soon?" Hermione said.

"Oh, you're just saying that because you hate Quidditch," said Ron.

"Hey look, gobstones! Who's up for a game?" George asked, and Hermione and Amy groaned.

"She's not very good at that, either. Maybe you should start her off with something easier, like exploding snap. Hopefully she doesn't _explode_." Everybody looked at her, again, in shock. Harry stood up.

"Umm, Ginny, I have to go to the bathroom. You mind walking me there?"

"Why, do you need me to hold it for you?" Ginny asked. This time Hermione stood up and grabbed Ginny by the arm.

"Ginny, could I have a word with you? _Privately_?" she commanded more than asked and steered the girl out the door. She let go of her when they got into the hallway and they both walked into Ginny's room and shut the door.

"So are you going to tell me what your problem is or am I going to have to guess?" Hermione said. Ginny crossed her arms.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come off it. You've been acting weird all day, and at school you're never with us when Amy is around. What's your problem with her?"

"I just don't like her. I have this…bad feeling about her"

"Is it because she's a muggle?" Hermione asked, her temper slowly rising.

"Because, you know, your dad would not be very proud…"

"No! Hermione, you know that's not it. It's not that she's a muggle, it's because she's … a whore!"

"WHAT?" Hermione asked. "On what grounds?"

"You see how Fred and George practically drool over her when she's around. And you've heard about American girls. They exchange sex more often than handshakes.

She's probably already had a go with both of them already."

"Ginny, you can't be serious! Listen to yourself! First of all, Fred and George hit on anything with breasts. Remember how they used to hit on me all the time? They stopped because my lack of response bores them. Amy does that thing where she stops talking and turns all red, and they probably enjoy that kind of attention. As for Americans, they probably hear the same things about us. Not everything you hear is true."

"Yeah, well…" Ginny paused to think. "Well what about those looks she gives to Harry! It's obvious that she likes him!" Hermione laughed.

"Ginny, everyone gives Harry _looks_. And she doesn't like Harry. I know that for a fact."

"How? Because she's denied it? You know, denial is the first sign of---"

"Ginny! I know she doesn't like Harry, or anyone else in Ron's room for that matter, because she likes---" she didn't get to finish because the man who's name she was about to say threw open the door and looked around the room. Both girls jumped, but Hermione quickly recovered.

"Sir, if you're looking for Amy, she's in Ron's room, down the hall to the left. Wordlessly, he nodded and left. Ginny raised her eyebrow at Hermione.

"And you wonder why I have weird feelings toward her."

"Gin, just give her a chance, alright? She hasn't done anything to you." Both girls walked toward the door.

"Alright, but if she goes after Harry, I can't promise I'll be responsible for my actions."

* * *

Snape didn't even knock before he barged into Ron's room. The twins had left, so it was only Ron, Harry and Amy. Amy looked like she had seen a ghost while Ron and Harry instinctively stood up and moved closer to her.

"You," he pointed at Amy. "Pack your things. You're coming with me." Amy looked over at Ron and Harry.

"Now hang on. You can't just---" Ron started before Snape put his hand up to stop him.

"On the contrary, yes, I can, Mr. Weasley. She may no longer be safe here."

"Safe?" Harry asked, puzzled. "Why wouldn't she be safe?" Before Snape could answer, Molly Weasley came bursting into the room.

"Dinner's ready! Down to the kitchen, all of you!" she said, pulling on Snape's arm.

"Now Molly, I thought I made myself perfectly clear," he argued, pulling away.

"Nonsense, Severus. There's no reason you can't stay for dinner."

"There are many reasons that we cannot stay for dinner. I must return the girl to Hogwarts!"

"Severus Snape!" she started, drawing herself up to full height. "I agreed to let you escort her back to school tonight. However, you cannot burst into my home and expect to order me around. In case you haven't noticed, there are more than enough extremely capable witches and wizards in this house, should anything happen. Now, unless you are aware of a direct attack on my home tonight, and I do not think that you are, you will sit down at the kitchen table and not move until your plate is completely cleared. Is that understood?" With her hands on her hips, she glared at Snape the way no one else would dare to.

"Very well," he scowled, and stalked out of the room. Amy, Ron and Harry started at her in shock.

"And what are you all staring at? Downstairs, all of you!"

* * *

Dinner was a very awkward affair consisting of Snape glaring at his plate, almost everyone glaring at Snape, and Molly Weasley awkwardly trying to encourage conversation. Snape finished his food as quickly as was decently possible and waited for Amy to get her things. Ron and Harry went to help her.

"Who the hell does he think he is, coming into my house like that and telling you to leave?" Ron asked, absentmindedly throwing things into a bag.

"I'm sure he wouldn't be if it wasn't something important," Amy sighed.

"And he hasn't told you what it is, has he?" asked Harry. "You'd better get used to getting pawned around with no explanations. It's a growing trend these days." Nobody knew what to say after that, and after a few minutes they walked out into the kitchen with everyone else. Snape was standing, anxious to leave. He pointed his wand at Amy's belongings and shrunk them. Then we walked briskly to the fireplace. Amy hugged everyone goodbye.

"Thank you for your hospitality, as usual, Molly" Snape said, in a voice that suggested he was anything but thankful. He stood in front of the fireplace and gestured for Amy to go first. Molly grabbed her arm fondly.

"Goodbye, dear. You are more than welcome to come over during the Christmas holiday. Hopefully next time no one will feel the need to take you away from us." She gave Snape a hard look but stood back so Amy could go past her. Amy grabbed a fist full of flew powder and looked at Snape, not knowing exactly where she was supposed to go.

"Dumbledore's office."

"Dumbledore's office," she repeated, and landed almost gracefully. Snape came just seconds behind her and turned toward the desk, where a very startled looking McGonagall was still sitting.

"I take it the Headmaster has not seen fit to return as of yet?" Snape inquired.

"Believe me Severus, when he does return, you will be the first to know. He should be back in a half hour. Now if you don't mind, I am busy! Oh and hello, Miss Beckett. I trust that you have been well?"

"Umm, yeah," Amy said.

"Marvelous," McGonagall said, distractedly. "You will be summoned as soon as Albus returns." She said to Snape.

"Very well," he said, and swept out of the office and down the spiral stairs.

"So are you going to tell me what this is all about?" Amy asked.

"Soon, but we must wait for the Headmaster. And not a moment before." Amy shrugged her shoulders. "Well then do you mind if I go get unpacked and have a bath? I think I still have some gob in my hair."

"Fine. But if you are not done and back outside of your rooms in a half hour, I'm coming to get you."

"Alright, alright," she said as she made her way into her rooms. Snape watched her and then turned back into his room. There was so much for him to think about.

Almost as soon as he opened the door, his entire body sighed in relief. He slid against the door with his head in his hands until he was on the floor.

_She's safe _was his first thought. Then all of his other thoughts got bombarded together.

_A daughter? He has a daughter? How? When? Why did she look exactly like Amy? Why would she help to "win" the war? _

His thoughts continued like this for twenty minutes more, when they were broken by a scream coming from somewhere relatively close to where he was. He jumped up and ran into the hall. The screaming continued. It was definitely coming from Amy's room.

"Miss Beckett? Amy? Amy, what is wrong?" he asked. When he was greeted with more screams, he said the password to her rooms and ran in. The screams were coming from the bathroom's closed door. He paused just before he reached it. Chloe, the cat, was scratching at the bottom of the door, trying to get in. She looked at Snape expectantly. He leaned his head against the door and put his hand on the knob.

"I…I'm coming in now," he said, unsure of himself. With his wand out he unlocked the door and tentatively peeked into the room. He gasped and threw the door open wider when he saw the scene in front of him.

Amy was sitting in a tub overflowing with crimson-colored water, sobbing, and covering her head with her arms. Loose objects such as soap, a razor, and bottles of shampoo and conditioner floated all around her, occasionally whizzing past.

A/N: I've been WAITING to write this chapter since I first started the story. Reviews please? I know, I'm evil. Also, fun fact, if you look up the Black family tree you'll find out who Alphard Black is.


	16. Chapter 16: Blood Ties

**Chapter 16: Blood Ties**

Amy Beckett, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, and Madame Pomphrey were inside of Dumbledore's office. Amy and Dumbledore sat across from each other, while Madame Pomphrey and Snape stood on either side of Amy, who sat shaking with her arms crossed in front of her chest and her dark, tangled hair occasionally releasing droplets of water.

"She should still be in the Hospital Wing, Albus," Madame Pomphrey admonished. "Pulling her out so soon when…"

"When there is clearly nothing wrong with her," Dumbledore finished.

"But Albus…she bled nearly enough to fill the entire bath tube!"

"And has not so much as a mark on any part of her body, unless of course you have mistaken." Dumbledore twinkled his eyes as Madame Pomphrey fumed at him.

"I do not make mistakes," she said shrilly, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"On the contrary, you do," countered Snape, with a look of dawning comprehension on his face. Everyone except Amy turned to look. He moved closer to Madame Pomphrey.

"You told me she was normal," He said, pointing an accusatory finger. "You said that there was nothing wrong with her. Due to recent events, I am forced to question your diagnosis."

"How dare you!" Madame Pomphrey rounded on Snape. "She was damn well perfectly fine when I examined her! Perfectly normal for a young witch!" Snape's eyes got wider, and him and Dumbledore exchanged glances. Dumbledore got up and walked toward his door.

"Well, Poppy, I sincerely thank you for your services tonight. If any other complications arise, you shall be the first to know. Good night and sleep well!"

Madame Pomphrey looked highly affronted by the sudden dismissal, but had enough poise not to question it. She did, however, take one last look at Snape before she left.

"If anything, and I mean anything, happens to her, you bring her in straight away. Or else," she added as she swept out of the room. Dumbledore sat down at his desk and motioned for Snape to do the same. He picked up his wand at pointed it at a small cup of tea in front of Amy. Steam rose from the top. Dumbledore put one of his hands on top of Amy's.

"My dear, you haven't touched your tea," he said in the most gentle voice possible. She looked from Dumbledore to the tea a number of times, then grabbed the cup and took a very small sip before placing it back down again. Dumbledore smiled.

"Now then. I believe you have some news for me, Severus." Snape looked at Amy distastefully.

"Do you really think it wise for the girl to be here after she has just experienced such a…traumatic event?" Snape asked.

"On the contrary Severus, I think that what you are about to tell me might help shed some insight onto her situation. However, if both you and her are in agreement on the matter…"

"No," said a small voice, and both men turned to look at Amy, who kept her eyes firmly on her cup as she spoke. "I…I want to know what's happening to me."

"So it's settled," said Dumbledore cheerfully, as if he had just decided the victor of a game of Exploding Snap. "Now then, my boy, tell me everything."

Snape did just that. It took him nearly twenty minutes to explain everything that happened, but he did so uninterrupted. When he was done, Dumbledore positioned his hands in the shape of a steeple on top of his desk and bowed his head.

"I see. Well, this is very problematic indeed."

"Very problematic?" Snape asked, jumping out of his seat. "I've just informed you that the Dark Lord possibly has a child, who may be sitting in this very office at the present time, who, by the way, almost bled to death from an untraceable wound and can suddenly make objects levitate, and all you can say about the situation is that it is 'very problematic?!' His voice wavered from soft, to loud, to soft again. Dumbledore, however, looked unalarmed. Instead of responding, he picked up his wand and looked at it thoughtfully. Then he put it down in front of Amy, who remained speechless.

"My dear, I'm wondering if you could conduct a little experiment for me." He leaned back in his chair and pulled a small plastic orb off of one of his shelves. Amy looked in his direction.

"If you could just pick up the wand, concentrate on this and say '_depulso_,' we could see whether one of my theories is correct." Amy glanced at the Headmaster uncertainly as he got up and stood next to her. She took the wand in her hands and turned it around. Then, in a barely audible voice, she said _depulso_ while giving it a feeble wave. Nothing happened.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Snape said in a bored voice. She seemed to snap out of whatever trance she had been in before and gave him an annoyed look. Determined, she turned back and said _depulso_ in a strong, clear voice. The orb immediately flew from the desk, ricocheted off the wall, and made a clear line for Snape's head. Snape ducked just in time and the orb exploded as it flew into a bookcase. Nobody spoke for a good two minutes. Amy was the first to recover.

"So does this mean…" she trailed off. Dumbledore rose and went into the corner of his office. "Just one more little experiment, my dear." He took the sorting hat off the shelf and walked toward Amy. She shrank slightly from the sight of the shabby old hat.

"Now, now, dear. Just let me put this on your head, perfect!" he beamed. Amy closed her eyes as an alien voice filled her head.

"Well, well now. What do we have here? A little older than the heads I'm used to being on, yes, but the Sorting Hat doesn't judge. I see a lot of fire, a lot of passion. But also a lot of intelligence. You have the power to do great things, yes. But so much indecision. And pure of heart. Better be…RAVENCLAW."

Dumbledore and Snape stared at Amy and the hat for a while before Dumbledore got up and removed the hat from her head. He returned to his seat and was silent.

"Albus, does the sorting hat sort muggles?" Snape asked, sounding as if he already knew the answer.

"No, it does not." Amy looked back and forth between the two wizards with excitement.

"So does this mean…?" Amy asked once again.

"You're a witch," Dumbledore stated.

"But that's…"

"Impossible," Snape finished for Amy.

"Improbable, yes, but not impossible," Dumbledore said, raising his index finger. "I will owl Filius at once to have your new robes sent down. I'm sure he will be happy to have such an asset to Ravenclaw house. You will have to have private lessons with the professors, who will have to be made aware of your condition. You can also stay in your rooms in the dungeons; it would not do well to unnecessarily mingle with the other students. You will also need to be taken to Diagon Alley to get a wand."

"But Albus…how is this possible? People don't just repress magic and have it explode out of them during adulthood," said Snape, giving Amy a puzzled look.

"I do not yet have all the pieces of the puzzle, but I think that we have more than enough evidence to form a humble picture. Amy, I know that you have been through quite enough this evening. If you do not wish to hear any more tonight…"

"No, let me have it. No time like the present, and all that," said Amy. Amy and Snape leaned forward to hear that Dumbledore had to say.

"Very well. Firstly, let's start with the issue of your parentage. Have you had any reason to believe, Miss Beckett, that your parents are not indeed your parents?" Amy looked looked up to the ceiling as if it held the answer.

"Well, not really. I mean, my mom's always hated me, but my dad seems fine. I even have his hair and his eyes."

"I see," said Dumbledore, scratching his chin. "Well then, if my theory is correct, the people who you know as your parents have no idea that they are not."

"So you mean…I'm adopted?" Amy asked.

"No, not exactly. But one step at a time." Dumbledore leaned back, took off his tall, starry hat, and took a very deep breath. "Now, due to recent events, from what Severus has told me, I am forced to conclude that your real father must be none other than Voldemort himself."

"No!" Snape suddenly snarled. Amy and Dumbledore turned to look at him.

"It's not possible! Headmaster, do you have any idea what you are suggesting? Why would the Dark Lord entrust his only offspring onto muggles? Why would he keep her away for so long? Also, did he impregnate her mother, or does she have another mother entirely? None of this makes any sense at all!"

"Now, now, Severus," said Dumbledore. "As I say, I do not have all of the answers. You must, however, bear with my own knowledge so that we can take steps to fill in the missing pieces. However it came to be, dear, you were brought into the muggle world with your powers bound. But why they came out now…in this fashion…" he was interrupted by an owl tapping the window.

"Curious," he said as he let the owl in. The owl stuck out its leg, and Dumbledore pulled something out of his drawer and fed it to the owl. He read the note with interest and nodded happily.

"Yes, yes, it would explain some of it." He dismissed the owl and turned back to Amy and Snape.

"Madame Pomphrey has just informed me that she has examined a sample of the blood that Amy was found covered in. It is not ordinary blood, but menstrual blood."

Amy's eyes went wide in horror while Snape's went wide in understanding.

"There is no reason to be upset, my dear. Severus, would you like to explain the significance?

"Menstrual blood was viewed as having magical properties by the certain ancient matrilineal societies. In fact, it was so highly exhaled that sometimes the men cut their own genitalia in hopes to produce it."

"Eww," Amy replied, cringing.

"Indeed," said Snape.

"But…what does any of this have to do with me?" Amy asked.

"Well now, my dear, there is a binding spell, called _Anima Ingenero_. It is very complicated, and involves transferring a fetus from the mother's womb to another. Usually, the other woman never knows and thinks that she has conceived the child with her husband. It is against the law and has been since the 1800's. It involves a certain degree of dark magic, and you can see the problems of transferring babies to unknowing women."

"So…so my real mother didn't want me?" Amy asked, looking slightly upset.

"You're better off that she didn't," Snape said with a shudder. "Whoever she is, she is either extremely demented and despicable or otherwise already dead." Dumbledore gave Snape a hard look and smiled reassuringly at Amy.

"I'm sure what Severus means, dear, is that your mother sought to protect you, and the only way she could was to give you to somebody else."

"But what about that other girl from tonight? And why would the Dark Lord want to entrust muggles with his only heir?" Snape asked.

"I am afraid I cannot answer either of those questions with certainty," Dumbledore stated gravely. "We cannot assume that a girl who looks exactly like Miss Beckett, whom Voldemort mistook for her, existed by coincidence. However, I am more concerned with your second question at the moment. As I know, Tom has always been a fan of planning ahead. Perhaps he wanted to make certain that part of him would survive if in fact he was killed. However, there is a bright side to this situation."

Amy and Snape exchanged glances. Snape opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it.

"We know now that at least Voldemort does not want you dead, my dear,"

Snape lost what little control he had been holding on to.

"At least he doesn't want her dead? Albus, she'd be better off dead than whatever he wants her for!"

Amy looked at Snape with tears forming in her eyes. Dumbledore seemed to have noticed. However, before he could speak, Amy got up.

"I'd like to go now," she said quietly. Snape raised his eyebrow at Dumbledore, who nodded gravely.

"Of course, dear girl. You've had quite an…eventful evening. Is there anything I can get for you before you go?"

"No, I just want to go to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight then. Sleep well, child." Amy rushed out without another word. Snape spun around to face Dumbledore.

"Albus…we need to talk about this logically. We'll need to disguise the girl better, and she'll need to be monitored more closely…"

"I believe, Severus, that this conversation can wait until morning."

"Are you mad, Albus? Of course it can't wait until morning! It could have been she who died today!"

"I think it is more important that you see that she gets safely to her rooms." With a look of dawning comprehension and without another word, Snape left. He ran down the stairs two at a time and frantically stalked down the hall all the way to their rooms. He looked left and right. There was no sign of her.

_The girl walks at the speed of mentally challenged snail. There is no way she got here before me _Snape thought. Suddenly growing annoyed without knowing why, he banged on her door. Without waiting for a response, he said her password and entered. She was nowhere in sight. He quickly rushed around and checked the bathroom and the bedroom. Nothing.

'_Fuck_' was all he could think as he ran out into the hall and up the stairs, with no idea of where he was going.

_A/N: I am SO sorry for the long ass wait. This semester is really killing me with work. Also, I wasn't very inspired when my favorite chapter initially got the same number of reviews as my least favorite chapter. I'm really surprized that I still have people adding the story for alerts and stuff even though I haven't updated in a while. I also feel like a lot of the authors that I like have stopped writing, too. It's weird. _

_Also, the thing about the ancient societies worshiping menstural blood is real. I learned about it in psych of women haha. Also, the spell that is used to put the baby in another body is borrowed from my other story (which is only one chapter and which I won't work on until I finish this one). _

_ALSO, don't feel like I'm giving away all of my -secrets- in this chapter. There are still plently more to go. I can't say when my next update will be because my schedule is so crazy. But know that I love you all, and I'll try.  
_


	17. Chapter 17: In the Lake

**Chapter 17: In the Lake**

_A/N: Omg Im back! After years, I stayed up until 4 AM last night re-reading this story and falling back in love with it. I re-read all the reviews too, and I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry I dissapeared without finishing the story!_ _It's not fair to all my loyal reviewers and for that I am sorry. You guys were/are amazing! I started this story to serve some sort of function for myself and to fill some sort of void. I was definitely at a different place in my life back then. Now I am in graduate school and I have even less time to do things I want! However, I really missed writing and can't believe I abandoned it for so long. Still, sometimes I think that in order to make something better you have to step away from it from a little while and come back (although not years, again, sorry!). _

_I have been noticing small mistakes here and there in previous chapters, so I have been trying to fix them. Bear with me for now. Also, sorry if the writing on this chapter isn't quite up to par. I literally wrote it in the past few hours and I wanted to post it because I'm really excited! Enjoy!_

Severus Snape was beginning to grow tired of running after ungrateful teenagers who always seemed destined to run straight into the arms of danger. His head was still spinning from the information he had received in Albus's office.

_She's a witch...Voldemort has a daughter, and may have even had two..._

He made a quick decision and charged toward the main entrance. Anyone who had basically learned that their entire life was a lie would probably opt for some fresh air. Severus paused for a moment to examine the moon-bathed courtyard. The fresh summer night air would have felt good under normal circumstances, but Severus certainly did not take any pleasure in it.

_Where would she go?_

Without really thinking, his legs began to carry him past the Quidditch Pitch. After walking for a few moments, he saw what could have been the figure of a young girl standing by the Black Lake. His walked turned into a jog, and as he got closer, he could see that it was indeed Amy Beckett. Severus watched the girl for a moment as she peered into the lake, as if it held all the answers to the questions that had to have been swimming through her head.

"I'd like to be alone," said Amy, emotionlessly and without looking up from the lake as though she were in a trance.

"The Headmaster and I do not think that is a good idea, given the circumstances," Snape replied in a stern but gentle tone. This seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she had previously appeared to be in, because she spun around to face Snape with a look of anger that could rival even one of his glaring facial expressions.

"Oh, you and the Headmaster don't think it's a good idea given the _circumstances_?" Amy repeated. "Are we talking about the_ circumstances_ involving the fact that my entire life and everything I ever thought about myself is a lie?"

Snape opened his mouth to reply, but Amy kept going.

"Because apparently, I've been a witch for my entire life, raised by parents who aren't actually my parents, given up by my real mother, who didn't want me, and my father, who is apparently the most evil wizard who ever lived? And I had a twin sister that I didn't know about, who was just killed by that same evil wizard? And now he wants me for whatever sick plan he has in order to take over the world and destroy everything that I've ever known? Are those the _circumstances_ you're referring to?" Breathing heavily, Amy looked at Severus as if to dare him to reply. Not being one to back down from a challenge, he did.

"I know this may be hard to digest, but you must remain rational-"

"Nothing about this is rational!" Amy screamed, her voice echoing for no one but her and Severus to hear. "In fact, the only rational explanation to all this is that I'm suffering from a psychotic break! That's it! I must be delusional! There is no way any of this is real. My brain couldn't handle the death of my stepmother combined with all of the stress from school so it created an alternate universe where I could escape from the demands of reality."

"Amy..." Severus warned tentatively, but she interrupted him at once.

"You're probably not even really here!" Amy exclaimed, throwing her hands up dramatically. "You're just a figment of my imagination!"

"Now really, that is quite enough," Severus said as he walked toward her, attempting to take her back into the castle whether she liked it or not. She stepped away from him and looked once again toward the lake.

"This lake probably isn't real either! Watch, when I jump in nothing will happen, or maybe I'll wake up from this twisted nightmare!" She looked at the lake with sort of a manic expression, the kind of look that nothing good could come of.

"Do NOT jump into that lake," Severus warned in his most threatening tone. He made his way to grab Amy's arm and drag her to the castle, but he was about a split-second too late, and she dove right in. Severus froze, unable to do anything but watch. A few seconds later, Amy came up, splashing and shaking violently.

"H-holy balls, it's c-c-cold!" she shouted, turning once again back into the Amy that Severus had grown accustomed to.

"_Idiot girl," _Severus muttered under his breath as he submerged himself into the piercingly cold water. In one smooth stroke, he made his way toward Amy, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged out of the lake, coughing and shaking. Once back on the surface, he put on hand under her knees and one under the back of her neck, carrying her toward the castle.

"Seeing as how you cannot be trusted _not_ to make stupid decisions while in control of your own two legs, I am bringing you back to the castle with or without your permission," Severus stated matter-of-factly. He took out his wand and cast a drying and warming charm on both of them before setting off into a brisk walk back toward the castle. Amy said nothing, so Severus took the opportunity to lecture.

"You have no idea the kinds of creatures that live in that lake or how to deal with them. If you keep up with this foolishness, running around at all hours of the night, putting yourself in dangerous situations, pretty soon you're going to end up dead."

Amy picked her head up, and said in a barely audible voice, "Maybe it would be better off that way."

"Excuse me?" Severus came to an abrupt halt and looked at Amy dead in the face.

"You said it yourself. I would be better off dead," she continued, emotionlessly.

Severus thought back to their previous meeting with Dumbledore and his words echoed back into his brain.

_At least he doesn't want her dead? Albus, she'd be better off dead than whatever he wants her for!_

Severus mentally cringed as he recalled his poor choice of words.

"That's not what I meant," he started, lamely. He put Amy back on the ground temporarily and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Listen, I need you to promise me that you're not going to do anything to purposely hurt yourself. I know this is difficult for you, and I can't imagine how you must be feeling, but it is important for your own safety and the safety of others that you don't do anything stupid. Is that understood?"

Amy looked away sheepishly. "But if it's good for the safety of others, maybe I should just turn myself in to him. After all, if I am his-his daughter, and he doesn't want me dead, then what's the harm? Look at what he's done to you and other people because he's mad that he can't find me! If he finds me, won't all of it stop?"

Severus put his hand on his head and sighed. "No, it will not stop. In fact, it would only get worse. Whatever he wants you for, you can guarantee that it will not be good. And you can also be sure that you would only be another pawn in his game, as countless others before you have become. The fact that you are his daughter means nothing to him. It does not mean that he will not hurt and manipulate you to get exactly what he wants from you. The Dark Lord, Miss Beckett, is a psychopath. As a psychology student, surely you know what this means?" Severus looked into her eyes, hoping to engage her.

"It means that he doesn't have the capacity to feel empathy or other human emotions," she recited, as if from a textbook.

"Precisely," Snape encouraged, going a bit into teacher mode. "The Dark Lord would kill his own mother of she stood in his way and not spare a second thought about it or feel a drop of remorse. All he cares about is power, and he will do anything to attain it. I watched him kill that other girl without a blink of the eye. There is no reason he would not do the same to you. And even if he didn't, surely you wouldn't want to become his instrument of evil, helping to bring about the end of the muggle and wizarding worlds as we know it?" He said this last part with a smirk, hoping to break Amy out of the shock and depression she seemed to be in.

"Not really," Amy replied, the corners of her mouth perking up ever so slightly.

"I thought as much," Snape said smoothly. "Now can we please get back into the castle some time before the students get out of bed and start polluting the corridors?"

Amy chuckled slightly and nodded. The pair headed back to the dungeons without speaking a word to each other. This gave Snape time to think. Random bits of information swam around in his head, begging to be put together in a logical fashion.

'_You, girl! Are your parents not Alphard and Migena Black?' _echoed the Serpentine voice of the Dark Lord in his head.

'_My brain couldn't handle the death of my stepmother combined with all of the stress from school so it created an alternate universe where I could escape from the demands of reality_,' entered the shrill, panicked voice of Amy Beckett from just minutes before.

'_We moved in with my dad and my step mom, but she passed away a couple of months ago. It's a shame really, I didn't even know her for that long and I considered her more of a mother to me than my real mother ever was.'_

'_Have no fear, Severus, the house is under magical protection. It has been ever since…well…ever since I deemed it necessary,' _came the much more cheerful voice of Albus Dumbledore.

"_That's it," _thought Snape, trying to put all the pieces together but failing miserably._ "Dumbledore's been hiding things since day one, and it's about time the old man tells me everything that he knows whether he likes it or not. I don't care if I have to drag him out of bed myself, this definitely cannot wait until morning."_

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt as he and Amy stopped in front of the doors to their rooms. Severus motioned for Amy to follow her into his rooms. She sat down on his bed as he headed for the kitchen. Amy watched him, puzzled.

As if to answer her inquisitive look, Severus explained, "I am making tea and you are going to drink the entire cup. There is a reason people do not use the Black Lack for recreational swimming purposes. You're lucky you didn't catch your death in there. I also figured that, after a night like tonight, you wouldn't want to be alone. You've already quite made yourself at home here, anyhow." Severus delivered the last line with an air of playfulness. He fully intended to leave her alone while he sought answers from Dumbledore, but she didn't need to know that. What she needed was rest so that she could wake up with a clear head in the morning. Or afternoon, as was her pattern. Amy smirked, and picked up the book that she had been reading during her previous stay in Severus's quarters. This is why she did not notice as he ever so swiftly and gracefully uncorked a vial of Dreamless Sleep potion and slipped it into her tea. He poured himself a cup, potionless of course, and made his way over to the bed with both cups. Amy raised the cup to her lips without question. After a few seconds, she jumped, looking at Severus alarmed. Severus tried not to visibly panic as he thought she may have figured out what he had done.

"Severus, do you think that, well since my real father is so evil, that eventually I'll be evil too? Like I have this evil thing living inside me, waiting for the perfect chance to come out?"

Severus almost laughed at her drowsy line of thinking. Still, he understood her concern.

With his back to her, he replied, "just because your biological father is quite possibly the most evil creature to ever grace the wizarding world does NOT mean that you are destined to follow in his footsteps. You are a successful, ambitious young woman, so the parents that raised you obviously did something right. You have a good heart, and if anybody ever tried to convince me that you were evil, I would have them sent to St. Mungo's in a heartbeat." Severus realized after he spoke that Amy may not have understood the reference, so he turned to look at her. He did not have to worry, however, because she was fast asleep. Severus breathed a deep sigh of relief. He quickly put the covers over her, and paused as he was about to leave. She looked so peaceful, more peaceful than he had perhaps ever seen her. He bent down to move a strand of stay hair from her face, and immediately mentally berated himself.

_What the hell is wrong with you? You're getting too soft. She's just a teenage brat, anyhow, not unlike the ones you struggle to teach every miserable day of your existence. There is nothing special about her. Anyway, you have more important things to worry about. Albus has got some explaining to do. _

And with that line of thought, Snape set his wards to alert him if anyone tried to get in or out of his quarters, and set out to find the answers to the questions that had slowly been giving him a migraine for the past few hours.

_A/N edit: Please review! If you guys haven't seen a certain character and you would like to or something, let me know and I'll try to accomodate you if it fits into the story! I have so many hits and ZERO reviews since I've updated. It's a little discouraging =/  
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_A/N: The title, In the Lake, refers to a song by Emilie Autumn that popped into my head as I was trying to think of what to name this chapter.  
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